Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Initiates Coverage on Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on shares of Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) in a research report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm set a “market perform” rating and a $92.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 9.25% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on NDAQ. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. TD Cowen raised shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $106.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target (up from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, January 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.08.

Nasdaq Stock Down 4.4%

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $84.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $85.39 and a 200-day moving average of $89.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Nasdaq has a 52-week low of $68.00 and a 52-week high of $101.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.87 billion, a PE ratio of 27.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.02.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Nasdaq will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nasdaq news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.91, for a total value of $29,073,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,924,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $186,542,349.73. This represents a 13.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 506,451 shares of company stock valued at $47,142,951. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in Nasdaq by 52.2% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 833,095 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $80,919,000 after buying an additional 285,606 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors boosted its position in Nasdaq by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 30,638 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,976,000 after buying an additional 1,144 shares during the last quarter. Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at about $317,000. EJMK Ventures LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at about $783,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 126,750.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 2,535 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Nasdaq

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.