Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) Short Interest Up 6.1% in August

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,250,000 shares, an increase of 6.1% from the August 15th total of 5,890,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,720,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ICE. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $168.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $159.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $143.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $153.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.36.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

ICE traded down $1.59 on Wednesday, hitting $161.22. 2,755,005 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,468,326. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.34, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Intercontinental Exchange has a 12 month low of $104.49 and a 12 month high of $163.71. The business has a 50-day moving average of $155.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.35.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 12.70%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange will post 6.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 58,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.68, for a total transaction of $8,272,553.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,179,993 shares in the company, valued at $167,181,408.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Intercontinental Exchange news, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 1,898 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.66, for a total value of $259,380.68. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 46,815 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,397,737.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 58,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.68, for a total value of $8,272,553.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,179,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,181,408.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 67,096 shares of company stock valued at $9,593,983. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intercontinental Exchange

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ICE. American National Bank grew its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 3.4% during the second quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 4,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $559,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 4.8% during the second quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 1,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. boosted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. now owns 15,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,031,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Company Profile

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of market infrastructure, data services, and technology solutions for financial institutions, corporations, and government entities in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Singapore, India, Abu Dhabi, Israel, and Canada.