Morgan Stanley Cuts Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Price Target to $118.00

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) had its price objective lowered by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $118.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential upside of 27.75% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $109.00 price target (down from $111.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $108.00 price objective (up from $104.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 target price (up from $101.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Nasdaq from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $108.92.

Nasdaq Trading Up 0.5%

Nasdaq stock opened at $92.37 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $94.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.26. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.99.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.09. Nasdaq had a net margin of 22.60% and a return on equity of 18.38%. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Nasdaq will post 4.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $106,875.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 100,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,506,935. This trade represents a 1.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,000 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total transaction of $1,203,930.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 128,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,881,214.73. This trade represents a 9.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 44,047 shares of company stock worth $4,139,191. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nasdaq

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Eastern Bank raised its holdings in Nasdaq by 168.0% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Company Profile

Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology, market infrastructure and exchange company headquartered in New York City. The company operates Nasdaq stock exchanges in the United States and provides trading, clearing, settlement, listing and market data services. Through its Nordic and Baltic operations, Nasdaq also serves financial markets across Northern Europe.

Nasdaq’s business includes exchange and market services, index development, investment intelligence, and technology solutions for exchanges, brokers, banks, asset managers and other financial institutions.