StockNews.com Upgrades Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) to “Hold”

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on NDAQ. Raymond James upped their price target on Nasdaq from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Nasdaq from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $74.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.88.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Nasdaq stock opened at $72.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99. Nasdaq has a fifty-two week low of $58.10 and a fifty-two week high of $84.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $75.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.40. The company has a market capitalization of $41.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.59, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.02.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 15.10%. On average, analysts anticipate that Nasdaq will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total value of $1,102,179.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,398,253.92. This represents a 20.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.81, for a total transaction of $47,179.17. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 61,980 shares in the company, valued at $4,450,783.80. The trade was a 1.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,116 shares of company stock valued at $1,434,818 over the last 90 days. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nasdaq

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 194.6% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Nasdaq by 1,509.5% during the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.