Royal Bank Of Canada Reiterates “Outperform” Rating for Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $108.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 11.47% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 target price (up from $99.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up previously from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.13.

Nasdaq Trading Down 1.2%

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $96.89 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $55.32 billion, a PE ratio of 31.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.01. Nasdaq has a 52-week low of $64.84 and a 52-week high of $101.79. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $95.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.04. Nasdaq had a net margin of 21.77% and a return on equity of 16.90%. The company had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. Nasdaq’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Nasdaq will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total value of $450,045.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 125,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,568,656.74. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total value of $28,917,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,924,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $185,541,400.17. This represents a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 306,605 shares of company stock valued at $29,546,812 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nasdaq

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 33.5% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,274,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,438,897,000 after purchasing an additional 6,840,735 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Nasdaq in the 2nd quarter valued at about $406,823,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 6.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,648,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,275,902,000 after acquiring an additional 3,848,406 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 261.7% during the second quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 2,690,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $240,556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,946,479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 4,365.0% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,641,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $146,749,000 after acquiring an additional 1,604,368 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Nasdaq this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat consensus — $0.96 EPS vs ~$0.92 expected and $1.39B revenue (up ~13% YoY); management called out record revenue for the year. Nasdaq Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Solutions revenue growth and AI initiatives were highlighted as durable organic drivers — management pointed to product uptake and deal activity supporting higher-margin software revenue. NDAQ Q4 Deep Dive: Solutions Revenue and AI Initiatives Drive Robust Growth Amid Margin Compression
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts lifted targets and ratings after results: JPMorgan raised to $101 (Overweight), TD Cowen to $105 (Hold) and RBC reaffirmed Outperform with $108 target — adds buy-side momentum. Benzinga Analyst Notes
• Positive Sentiment: Board declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.27/share (payable Mar 30), maintaining shareholder cash return policy. Nasdaq Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.27 Per Share
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call and transcript provide more color on buy-side activity, index licensing and fintech deals; useful for modeling recurring Solutions revenue cadence. Nasdaq Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Slide deck and presentation posted with segment detail (index, market services, and solutions) — helps analysts refine FY guidance assumptions. Nasdaq Q4 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation
• Negative Sentiment: Margins compressed and management flagged higher operating expenses; the company tweaked its expense view, which could pressure near-term profitability despite revenue growth. Nasdaq Beats Q4 Earnings & Revenue Estimates, Tweaks Expense View

Nasdaq Company Profile

Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology company that operates one of the world’s leading electronic securities exchanges and provides a broad array of products and services to capital markets participants. Its core activities include operating the Nasdaq Stock Market and other trading venues, developing and supplying market technology and matching engines to exchanges and trading firms, licensing market data and indices, and offering clearing, trade execution and post-trade solutions. The company also provides market surveillance, risk management and regulatory technology used by exchanges and regulators.

Founded in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) as the first electronic stock market, Nasdaq has evolved into a diversified marketplace and technology provider.