JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Stock

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price target increased by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $262.00 to $266.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price suggests a potential downside of 12.00% from the stock’s current price.

CME has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of CME Group from $304.00 to $302.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on CME Group from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of CME Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on CME Group from $319.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $305.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.47.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $302.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $109.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.27. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $276.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $273.03. CME Group has a one year low of $239.70 and a one year high of $302.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CME Group will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total value of $6,738,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 65,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,737,468.20. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Shepard purchased 251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $278.37 per share, with a total value of $69,870.87. Following the acquisition, the director owned 258,710 shares in the company, valued at $72,017,102.70. This represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $131,000. Markel Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 43.0% during the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 45,750 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,493,000 after buying an additional 13,750 shares in the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $256,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth about $914,000. Finally, FourThought Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 40,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,937,000 after buying an additional 687 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about CME Group

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat and commentary reinforced the firm’s resilient fee-based franchise — investors reacted to better-than-expected quarterly results and the company hitting a new one-year high after the report. Earnings Call Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank raised its price target to $316 and maintained a buy rating, giving fresh analyst support that can help momentum. Deutsche Bank PT Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reiterated a Buy rating, highlighting CME’s defensive, fee-based franchise and structural growth drivers. Morgan Stanley Note
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC nudged its target to $302 (sector perform) — a small technical change that largely preserves prior sentiment. RBC PT Adjustment
• Positive Sentiment: Management confirmed the firm is exploring a CME-issued digital token and tokenized cash pilots (including work with Google), a strategic move that could expand 24/7 crypto/product offerings and new non-trading revenue streams. CME Token Exploration
• Negative Sentiment: CME raised initial and maintenance margins for gold and silver futures (e.g., gold margins to 9% from 8%, silver to 18% from 15%) to manage sharp volatility — measures that can damp trading volume and futures activity in the near term. Margin Hikes
• Negative Sentiment: Pelican Bay Capital reported selling CME in Q4, signaling at least some institutional trimming that could weigh on sentiment if others follow. Institutional Selling
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan still carries an underweight rating despite updating its target — a reminder there are pockets of skepticism about valuation and upside. JPMorgan Note

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.