StockNews.com Lowers Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) to Sell

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Friday.

NDAQ has been the subject of several other research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Nasdaq from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Nasdaq from $75.00 to $74.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. UBS Group lifted their price target on Nasdaq from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price target on Nasdaq from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Nasdaq from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.92.

Nasdaq Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NDAQ opened at $60.12 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Nasdaq has a 52-week low of $46.88 and a 52-week high of $64.25. The company has a market cap of $34.58 billion, a PE ratio of 31.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a fifty day moving average of $59.93 and a 200 day moving average of $56.50.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.02). Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.98% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Nasdaq will post 2.75 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In related news, major shareholder Dubai Ltd Borse sold 31,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.00, for a total value of $1,798,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 58,341,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,383,809,610. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Nasdaq news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 7,400 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.91, for a total transaction of $465,534.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 61,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,879,785.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Dubai Ltd Borse sold 31,000,000 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.00, for a total transaction of $1,798,000,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,341,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,383,809,610. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nasdaq

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NDAQ. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new position in Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in Nasdaq by 89.3% in the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 74.9% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq, Inc operates as a technology company that serves capital markets and other industries worldwide. It operates in three segments: Capital Access Platforms, Financial Technology, and Market Services. The Capital Access Platforms segment sells and distributes historical and real-time market data; and develops and licenses Nasdaq-branded indices and financial products.