Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Strong-Buy Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $111.00 target price (up from $108.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $105.00 target price (up from $101.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.73.

Nasdaq Trading Up 2.2%

NDAQ opened at $95.96 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $53.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.98, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.99. Nasdaq has a 12 month low of $76.55 and a 12 month high of $101.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $87.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.37.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.09. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 18.38% and a net margin of 22.60%.The company had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Nasdaq will post 4.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is currently 36.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 11,010 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total transaction of $1,034,499.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 216,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,296,393.56. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Ab Investor acquired 56,782 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $85.98 per share, for a total transaction of $4,882,116.36. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 58,439,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,024,603,103.84. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 30,787 shares of company stock valued at $2,865,505. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nasdaq

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NDAQ. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Nasdaq

Here are the key news stories impacting Nasdaq this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Nasdaq from “Hold” to “Strong Buy,” providing a fresh bullish signal for the stock. Zacks.com
• Positive Sentiment: Nasdaq’s latest quarterly results showed strong momentum: earnings per share of $1.07 exceeded the $0.98 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $2.53 billion and increased 14.9% year over year. Coverage also highlights artificial-intelligence adoption, IPO activity, and platform expansion as growth drivers. NDAQ Q2 Deep Dive
• Positive Sentiment: The broader financial sector is benefiting from gains in fintech-related stocks, while industry analysts cite rising cryptocurrency adoption, growing recurring non-trading revenue, and technology investments as potential tailwinds for Nasdaq. Competition remains a consideration. Securities and Exchanges Stocks to Watch
• Neutral Sentiment: Nasdaq declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, equal to $1.24 annually and a yield of approximately 1.3%. The dividend supports shareholder returns but is unlikely to be the primary catalyst for the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Insiders reported multiple sales. Pc Nelson Griggs sold 17,787 shares for approximately $1.66 million across July 24 and July 27, while EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,000 shares worth about $1.20 million. Although both executives retained substantial holdings, the transactions may modestly temper investor sentiment. Nasdaq Insider Selling

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.