Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) had its price target increased by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $111.00 to $113.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 14.27% from the company’s current price.

NDAQ has been the subject of several other research reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price target (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Barclays set a $115.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price objective (up previously from $99.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $111.00 price target (up previously from $110.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.00.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $98.89 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. Nasdaq has a fifty-two week low of $64.84 and a fifty-two week high of $101.21. The company has a market cap of $56.47 billion, a PE ratio of 35.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.80.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.06. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 19.90%.The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. Nasdaq’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Nasdaq will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total transaction of $28,917,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,924,903 shares in the company, valued at $185,541,400.17. This represents a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total value of $450,045.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 125,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,568,656.74. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 306,605 shares of company stock worth $29,546,812. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its position in Nasdaq by 72.7% in the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nasdaq in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology company that operates one of the world’s leading electronic securities exchanges and provides a broad array of products and services to capital markets participants. Its core activities include operating the Nasdaq Stock Market and other trading venues, developing and supplying market technology and matching engines to exchanges and trading firms, licensing market data and indices, and offering clearing, trade execution and post-trade solutions. The company also provides market surveillance, risk management and regulatory technology used by exchanges and regulators.

Founded in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) as the first electronic stock market, Nasdaq has evolved into a diversified marketplace and technology provider.