Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays lowered their target price on Nasdaq from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $80.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Nasdaq from $79.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.88.

Nasdaq Stock Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $74.91 on Thursday. Nasdaq has a 1 year low of $58.10 and a 1 year high of $84.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $79.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.55. The stock has a market cap of $43.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.02, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 15.10%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Nasdaq will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total transaction of $285,460.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,532,778.56. The trade was a 5.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total value of $1,102,179.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,398,253.92. This represents a 20.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nasdaq

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Nasdaq by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 638,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,391,000 after acquiring an additional 9,178 shares during the period. 111 Capital bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth approximately $971,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,480,000 after buying an additional 12,000 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 70.9% in the fourth quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 6,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $466,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,749,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Nasdaq Company Profile

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.