Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) Price Target Raised to $1,235.00 at Guggenheim

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) had its target price upped by Guggenheim from $985.00 to $1,235.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Equinix from $925.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Equinix from $1,075.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Equinix from $950.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Equinix in a report on Thursday, April 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $1,173.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $915.00 target price on shares of Equinix in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equinix currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,075.91.

Equinix Trading Down 1.7%

NASDAQ EQIX opened at $1,089.85 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $995.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $865.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.26, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.01. Equinix has a 52 week low of $710.52 and a 52 week high of $1,128.68.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $8.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.07 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. Equinix had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.92 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Equinix will post 37.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equinix Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $5.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $20.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is an increase from Equinix’s previous quarterly dividend of $4.69. Equinix’s dividend payout ratio is presently 150.11%.

Insider Activity at Equinix

In other news, EVP Raouf Abdel sold 584 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $965.69, for a total transaction of $563,962.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,501,479.92. The trade was a 6.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Adaire Fox-Martin sold 1,086 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $966.20, for a total value of $1,049,293.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 19,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,912,398.80. This represents a 5.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 6,380 shares of company stock worth $6,179,022 in the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equinix

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Equinix by 433.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 32 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Equinix by 266.7% during the 1st quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 33 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Equinix during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Equinix by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 42 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in Equinix by 27.3% during the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 42 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Equinix

Equinix, Inc is a global provider of digital infrastructure and interconnection services, specializing in carrier-neutral data centers and colocation. The company operates a platform that enables enterprises, cloud and network service providers, and content companies to colocate IT infrastructure, interconnect directly with partners and providers, and access cloud on-ramps and network services in a secure, low-latency environment.

Equinix’s offerings include traditional colocation space and power, cross-connects and meet-me rooms, and a suite of connectivity and on-demand services designed for hybrid multicloud architectures.