Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Earns Outperform Rating from Analysts at William Blair

Analysts at William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Argus increased their price target on Nasdaq from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Nasdaq from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Nasdaq from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Nasdaq from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.87.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $82.65 on Monday. Nasdaq has a fifty-two week low of $53.62 and a fifty-two week high of $83.04. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $75.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.30. The company has a market cap of $47.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.56% and a net margin of 13.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Nasdaq will post 2.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 12,075 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.75, for a total value of $950,906.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 102,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,072,268.75. The trade was a 10.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 5,742 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.34, for a total transaction of $444,086.28. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 205,821 shares in the company, valued at $15,918,196.14. This trade represents a 2.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 49,459 shares of company stock valued at $3,811,808. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 12.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 517,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,624,000 after buying an additional 57,900 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Nasdaq during the 1st quarter worth $2,595,000. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in Nasdaq by 45.2% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 28,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,736,000 after acquiring an additional 8,974 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 52.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 30,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,907,000 after purchasing an additional 10,427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 8.9% during the second quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289,016 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,295,000 after purchasing an additional 23,557 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq, Inc operates as a technology company that serves capital markets and other industries worldwide. It operates in three segments: Capital Access Platforms, Financial Technology, and Market Services. The Capital Access Platforms segment sells and distributes historical and real-time market data; and develops and licenses Nasdaq-branded indices and financial products.