NiCE (NASDAQ:NICE) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

NiCE (NASDAQ:NICE)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $124.26, but opened at $129.72. NiCE shares last traded at $131.8690, with a volume of 386,017 shares changing hands.

The technology company reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.17 by $0.01. NiCE had a net margin of 18.92% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The business had revenue of $732.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $728.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.88 EPS. NiCE’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. NiCE has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.180-12.320 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of NiCE in a research report on Thursday. JMP Securities set a $200.00 price target on NiCE in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley set a $193.00 price objective on NiCE in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of NiCE in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $152.00 target price on shares of NiCE in a research report on Sunday, October 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, NiCE currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $188.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NiCE

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NICE. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of NiCE by 1,125.3% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 768,737 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $118,516,000 after purchasing an additional 705,997 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NiCE by 116.1% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,226,920 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $207,238,000 after buying an additional 659,170 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of NiCE by 218.6% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 908,014 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $139,989,000 after acquiring an additional 623,014 shares during the period. Wealthquest Corp bought a new stake in NiCE in the 1st quarter valued at $37,843,000. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its holdings in NiCE by 36.5% during the 3rd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 845,620 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $122,429,000 after purchasing an additional 225,936 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.34% of the company’s stock.

NiCE Trading Up 1.1%

The stock has a market cap of $8.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $150.95.

About NiCE

NiCE Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides cloud platforms for AI-driven digital business solutions worldwide. It offers CXone, a cloud native open platform; Enlighten, an AI engine for the customer engagement market; and smart self-service enables organizations to address consumers’ needs; and journey orchestration solutions that empower organizations to connect and route customers to deal with the customer’s request, and connects them using real-time AI-based routing.