Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Price Target Cut to $73.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) had its price objective cut by equities research analysts at Barclays from $76.00 to $73.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 21.42% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price target on Nasdaq from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Nasdaq from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $73.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Nasdaq from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Nasdaq from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.92.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $60.12 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Nasdaq has a 12-month low of $46.88 and a 12-month high of $64.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $59.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.93.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.02). Nasdaq had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 15.98%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Nasdaq will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Dubai Ltd Borse sold 31,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.00, for a total value of $1,798,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,341,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,383,809,610. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 7,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.91, for a total transaction of $465,534.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,879,785.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Dubai Ltd Borse sold 31,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.00, for a total value of $1,798,000,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,341,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,383,809,610. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nasdaq

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NDAQ. Thoma Bravo L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,166,454,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Nasdaq by 214.0% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,281,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $305,224,000 after purchasing an additional 4,280,846 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth $239,347,000. Bain Capital Public Equity Management II LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth $96,241,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Nasdaq by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,065,891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,620,131,000 after purchasing an additional 745,965 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is 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.