Short Interest in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Decreases By 34.2%

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 6,083,576 shares, a decline of 34.2% from the August 15th total of 9,248,434 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,616,255 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of Nasdaq stock traded up $1.74 during trading on Friday, hitting $93.05. 1,302,271 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,838,551. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.15, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.61. Nasdaq has a 52-week low of $76.55 and a 52-week high of $101.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 22.60% and a return on equity of 18.38%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Nasdaq will post 4.15 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NDAQ shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, July 20th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 price target (up from $101.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 price target on Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.30.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.22, for a total value of $105,997.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 101,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,534,875.56. This trade represents a 1.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total value of $1,203,930.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 128,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,881,214.73. This represents a 9.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 42,922 shares of company stock worth $4,032,316. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Altus USA Inc. lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 89.3% in the second quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 1,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,000 after acquiring an additional 666 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 16.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 85,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,749,000 after purchasing an additional 12,398 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 66,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 187.2% during the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 712,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,164,000 after purchasing an additional 21,416 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq, Inc (NASDAQ:NDAQ) operates financial markets and provides technology, data and analytics services to exchanges, brokers, institutional investors, corporations and other financial institutions. The company is best known for operating the Nasdaq Stock Market, a major U.S. equities exchange and a prominent venue for technology and growth companies.

Nasdaq’s businesses include listings, trading, market data, indexes, clearing and market infrastructure solutions. Through its technology platforms, the company provides exchange operators and financial institutions with systems for trading, surveillance, risk management, regulatory compliance and other market functions.