Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $107.3571.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on NDAQ shares. Loop Capital set a $113.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. TD Cowen raised shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $106.00 in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nasdaq news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 113,611 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.44, for a total value of $9,706,923.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,965,751 shares in the company, valued at $167,953,765.44. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.82, for a total transaction of $117,508.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $896,104.98. This trade represents a 11.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 138,162 shares of company stock valued at $11,932,913 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nasdaq

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $170,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Orgel Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Orgel Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, Quantum Portfolio Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 1.8% during the first quarter. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC now owns 7,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $606,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Nasdaq News

Here are the key news stories impacting Nasdaq this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to view Nasdaq favorably, with recent “Overweight” ratings and price targets that sit above the current share price, suggesting Wall Street still sees upside. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Nasdaq was highlighted for expanding non-trading revenue streams, strategic acquisitions, and a diversified business model, which supports longer-term growth. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Nasdaq announced a rebalance of the Nasdaq-100, adding five new names including AI and space-related companies, which is operationally routine but keeps the index franchise in the spotlight. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also announced a correction to a prior notice involving QMMM Holdings’ anticipated delisting, which is administrative and not a direct operating issue for Nasdaq itself. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investor sentiment has weakened amid concerns that tokenized-stock trading and potential SEC rule changes could increase competition for traditional exchange operators like Nasdaq. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation worries are also weighing on the stock after recent declines, with some commentary questioning whether Nasdaq’s premium multiple is still justified given the recent pullback. Article Title

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NDAQ stock opened at $82.24 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $46.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.77, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50 day moving average is $88.84 and its 200 day moving average is $90.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Nasdaq has a 52-week low of $77.09 and a 52-week high of $101.79.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 17.51%. Nasdaq’s revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nasdaq will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. This is a positive change from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is 37.35%.

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology company that operates one of the world’s leading electronic securities exchanges and provides a broad array of products and services to capital markets participants. Its core activities include operating the Nasdaq Stock Market and other trading venues, developing and supplying market technology and matching engines to exchanges and trading firms, licensing market data and indices, and offering clearing, trade execution and post-trade solutions. The company also provides market surveillance, risk management and regulatory technology used by exchanges and regulators.

Founded in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) as the first electronic stock market, Nasdaq has evolved into a diversified marketplace and technology provider.