Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors acquired 7,716 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 320% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,839 call options.

Nasdaq Trading Up 0.0%

Nasdaq stock traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $103.34. 1,307,873 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,775,271. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.17, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $90.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Nasdaq has a 12 month low of $76.55 and a 12 month high of $104.21.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.47 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 22.60% and a return on equity of 18.38%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Nasdaq will post 4.13 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NDAQ shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price objective on Nasdaq from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Nasdaq from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on Nasdaq from $135.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.06.

Key Nasdaq News

Here are the key news stories impacting Nasdaq this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 earnings and revenue beat expectations: Nasdaq reported adjusted EPS of $1.04, ahead of the $1.02 consensus and up from $0.88 a year earlier. Net revenue rose 13% year over year to approximately $1.5 billion, while total reported revenue was $2.39 billion. Nasdaq Q3 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Recurring revenue and growth businesses strengthened: Annualized recurring revenue reached a record $3.4 billion, solutions revenue increased 17% to about $1.2 billion, and index revenue jumped 39%. Management also cited double-digit growth in fintech and technology businesses, supporting confidence in future cash flow and margins. NDAQ Q3 Earnings Analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains supportive: RBC Capital Markets initiated or reiterated a Buy view after the results, while Wells Fargo raised its price target from $100 to $111 but maintained an Equal Weight rating. The new target implies further upside from the referenced trading level. RBC Capital Markets Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly dividend declared: Nasdaq maintained a $0.31-per-share quarterly dividend, payable December 18 to shareholders of record December 4. The dividend supports shareholder returns but was not announced as an increase. Nasdaq Dividend Announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling is a modest cautionary signal: EVP Jeremy Skule sold 1,125 shares for approximately $106,875, reducing his ownership by 1.15%. The transaction is small relative to his remaining stake, but broader recent insider activity has been weighted toward selling. SEC Insider Filing

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 1,125 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $106,875.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 96,561 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,173,295. The trade was a 1.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Nelson Griggs sold 11,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.35, for a total transaction of $1,060,813.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 205,001 shares in the company, valued at $19,751,846.35. This represents a 5.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 26,520 shares of company stock valued at $2,520,957 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NDAQ. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,931,637,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the second quarter valued at approximately $603,631,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Nasdaq during the second quarter valued at approximately $377,818,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 4.8% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,884,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $306,145,000 after acquiring an additional 177,114 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in Nasdaq by 19.6% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 2,910,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $247,063,000 after buying an additional 476,913 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Company Profile

Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology and market infrastructure company best known for operating the Nasdaq Stock Market, one of the world’s largest electronic stock exchanges. The company provides listing services for public companies and operates trading venues for equities, options and other financial products. Its exchange business serves companies, investors and market participants in the United States, as well as through Nasdaq’s Nordic and Baltic market operations.

Beyond its exchange activities, Nasdaq provides market data, analytics, indexes and technology used by exchanges, brokers, banks, asset managers and other financial institutions.