Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $105.55 and last traded at $105.0580, with a volume of 873,977 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $104.36.

Key Nasdaq News

Here are the key news stories impacting Nasdaq this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New buy rating: Erste Group Bank initiated coverage of Nasdaq, Inc. (NDAQ) with a “buy” rating. The endorsement may improve investor sentiment and adds to the company’s generally favorable analyst view. TickerReport article
• Positive Sentiment: Trading technology expansion: Nasdaq Europe plans to launch “trajectory trading” in November. The initiative could strengthen Nasdaq’s market-technology offering and create longer-term opportunities for trading-related revenue. Nasdaq Europe trajectory trading article
• Positive Sentiment: Solid operating momentum: Nasdaq’s latest quarterly results exceeded EPS expectations, with earnings of $1.04 per share versus the $1.02 consensus. Revenue rose 12.6% year over year to $2.39 billion, and the average analyst price target of $113.53 remains above the recent share price.
• Neutral Sentiment: Exchange oversight activity: Nasdaq notified Charming Medical Limited of an anticipated delisting and halted TJGC Group trading while requesting additional information. These actions demonstrate listing and regulatory enforcement but are unlikely to materially affect NDAQ’s financial results. Charming Medical delisting article TJGC trading halt article
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: EVP Bradley Peterson sold 3,987 shares for approximately $418,000, reducing his position by 3.37%. A separate report also noted insider Tal Cohen sold 10,390 shares. While executives retain substantial holdings, the sales could encourage profit-taking after NDAQ’s advance. Nasdaq insider selling article

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $135.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Erste Group Bank initiated coverage on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.53.

Nasdaq Stock Up 0.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $58.85 billion, a PE ratio of 29.03, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $95.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $90.65.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.47 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 22.81%. The company’s revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 4.15 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is presently 33.88%.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other news, insider Tal Cohen sold 10,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.34, for a total value of $1,073,702.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 205,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,192,553.84. This represents a 4.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 1,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $106,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 96,561 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,173,295. The trade was a 1.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 22,877 shares of company stock valued at $2,330,505 over the last 90 days. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fiduciary Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Nasdaq in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Eastern Bank increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 168.0% in the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Nasdaq in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Nasdaq during the second quarter worth $37,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Nasdaq Company Profile

Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology and market infrastructure company best known for operating the Nasdaq Stock Market, one of the world’s largest electronic stock exchanges. The company provides listing services for public companies and operates trading venues for equities, options and other financial products. Its exchange business serves companies, investors and market participants in the United States, as well as through Nasdaq’s Nordic and Baltic market operations.

Beyond its exchange activities, Nasdaq provides market data, analytics, indexes and technology used by exchanges, brokers, banks, asset managers and other financial institutions.