National Instruments (NASDAQ:NATI) Now Covered by StockNews.com

Research analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of National Instruments (NASDAQ:NATI – Get Rating) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday. The brokerage set a “buy” rating on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on NATI. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on National Instruments in a report on Tuesday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut National Instruments from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $55.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of National Instruments in a report on Tuesday, January 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.33.

National Instruments Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of National Instruments stock opened at $49.66 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.30 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.83. National Instruments has a 1-year low of $29.81 and a 1-year high of $55.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Scott Arthur Rust sold 2,094 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.25, for a total transaction of $113,599.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,987,547.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Eric Howard Starkloff sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.40, for a total transaction of $65,280.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 282,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,355,923.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott Arthur Rust sold 2,094 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.25, for a total value of $113,599.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,987,547.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,290 shares of company stock worth $2,224,644 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National Instruments

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NATI. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in National Instruments by 219.5% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,247,853 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $119,846,000 after buying an additional 2,231,458 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in National Instruments by 77.1% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 4,793,764 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $150,525,000 after buying an additional 2,087,386 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in National Instruments in the fourth quarter valued at $38,111,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in National Instruments by 3,612.7% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 770,760 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,441,000 after buying an additional 750,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its holdings in National Instruments by 15.4% in the third quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 4,259,112 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $160,739,000 after buying an additional 568,002 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.87% of the company’s stock.

About National Instruments

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National Instruments Corp. engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of systems to engineers and scientists that accelerate productivity, innovation, and discovery. The firm’s products include Labview, TestStand, FlexLogger, Voltage, Temperature, Software Defined Radios, Power Accessories, and Repair Services.