CME Group Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:CME)

Posted by ABMN Staff on Jul 24th, 2026

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME – Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders purchased 8,099 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 129% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,537 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $324.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $291.81.

Check Out Our Latest Report on CME

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME opened at $254.32 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $255.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $281.41. CME Group has a 52-week low of $218.31 and a 52-week high of $329.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.16 billion, a PE ratio of 21.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.25.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. CME Group had a net margin of 63.30% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.96 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that CME Group will post 12.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.37%.

Key Stories Impacting CME Group

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

Positive Sentiment: CME Group beat Q2 estimates, reporting $2.99 EPS versus $2.91 expected and revenue of about $1.71 billion versus $1.68 billion expected, supporting the stock. CME profit tops estimates, CEO says ‘perps’ chatter overshadows results
Positive Sentiment: Management said the first half of 2026 was the strongest in company history for revenue, adjusted operating income, adjusted net income, and adjusted diluted EPS, which likely boosted investor confidence. CME Group jumps after Q2 earnings beat and strong trading activity
Positive Sentiment: Record market data revenue and strong trading volumes suggested core business momentum remains healthy, another bullish catalyst for the stock. CME Group jumps after Q2 earnings beat and strong trading activity
Neutral Sentiment: UBS reiterated a Hold rating with a $260 target, signaling solid fundamentals but limited upside from current levels. Neutral Stance Reiterated on CME as Solid Fundamentals Meet Valuation Limits; $260 Price Target Maintained
Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan kept an Underweight rating and BofA maintained an Underperform stance, both implying analysts still see downside risk despite the earnings beat. Benzinga report on JPMorgan price target change Benzinga report on Bank of America price target change

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William R. Shepard bought 325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $230.57 per share, with a total value of $74,935.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 260,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,050,111.94. This represents a 0.12% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total value of $1,752,536.39. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,438,860.26. This trade represents a 17.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 11.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,660,000 after buying an additional 1,037 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in CME Group by 103.1% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after buying an additional 121,707 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in CME Group by 1,325.2% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 23,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,497,000 after acquiring an additional 21,918 shares in the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $992,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in CME Group by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 287,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,344,000 after acquiring an additional 7,397 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About CME Group

(Get Free Report)

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.