Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Raised to Buy at TD Cowen

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) was upgraded by TD Cowen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Finviz reports. The firm presently has a $106.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. TD Cowen’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 26.21% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on NDAQ. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.80.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Nasdaq stock opened at $83.99 on Thursday. Nasdaq has a 12-month low of $64.84 and a 12-month high of $101.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $93.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.74 billion, a PE ratio of 27.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.02.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Nasdaq will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total transaction of $450,045.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 125,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,568,656.74. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total transaction of $28,917,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,924,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $185,541,400.17. This trade represents a 13.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 604,500 shares of company stock worth $58,440,045. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nasdaq

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Front Row Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nasdaq in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the second quarter worth $27,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the third quarter worth $27,000. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the second quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Company Profile

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.