Morgan Stanley Increases Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) Price Target to $187.00

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) had its price target lifted by Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $187.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential upside of 16.36% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Monday, February 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $188.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price objective (down from $202.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.20.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ICE opened at $160.71 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $160.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $160.29. Intercontinental Exchange has a 1 year low of $143.17 and a 1 year high of $189.35. The company has a market capitalization of $91.03 billion, a PE ratio of 27.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 26.23% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intercontinental Exchange

In other news, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 15,213 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.02, for a total value of $2,358,319.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 64,869 shares in the company, valued at $10,055,992.38. This represents a 19.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $23,250,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,651,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $256,014,275. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 348,418 shares of company stock valued at $54,196,631. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intercontinental Exchange

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Brooklands Fund Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Dorato Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Steph & Co. raised its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Intercontinental Exchange

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) is a global operator of exchanges, clearing houses and data services that provides infrastructure for the trading, clearing, settlement and information needs of financial and commodity markets. Founded in 2000 by Jeffrey C. Sprecher as an electronic energy trading platform, the company has grown through organic expansion and acquisitions to operate a broad portfolio of assets spanning listed equities, futures and options, fixed income, and over-the-counter derivatives.