Barclays Raises Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) Price Target to $198.00

Key Points

• Barclays raised its price target on Intercontinental Exchange to $198 (from $193) and kept an overweight rating, implying about an 18% upside from the prior close.
• ICE reported a quarterly EPS beat ($1.71 vs. $1.67 est.) and revenue of $3.14B (up 7.8% YoY), and analysts hold a consensus "Buy" with an average target of $191.80.
• There has been notable insider selling recently — 348,418 shares sold in the last quarter worth roughly $54.2M, including sales by Christopher Edmonds and President Benjamin Jackson.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at Barclays from $193.00 to $198.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Barclays's price target would indicate a potential upside of 18.02% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley set a $183.00 price target on Intercontinental Exchange and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Intercontinental Exchange from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Monday, February 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Intercontinental Exchange currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $191.80.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

NYSE:ICE traded up $1.47 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $167.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 903,496 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,834,748. Intercontinental Exchange has a fifty-two week low of $143.17 and a fifty-two week high of $189.35. The firm's 50 day moving average is $160.87 and its 200-day moving average is $160.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $95.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.03.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 26.23% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The company had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. Intercontinental Exchange's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intercontinental Exchange

In other news, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 11,303 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.82, for a total transaction of $1,738,627.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 14,266 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,194,396.12. This represents a 44.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, President Benjamin Jackson sold 12,861 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $2,122,065.00. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 165,692 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,339,180. The trade was a 7.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 348,418 shares of company stock worth $54,196,631. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Intercontinental Exchange

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. ICONIQ Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 2.2% during the second quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 2,621 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 6,138 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $994,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,611 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,384 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 4,207 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $681,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Intercontinental Exchange

Intercontinental Exchange NYSE: ICE is a global operator of exchanges, clearing houses and data services that provides infrastructure for the trading, clearing, settlement and information needs of financial and commodity markets. Founded in 2000 by Jeffrey C. Sprecher as an electronic energy trading platform, the company has grown through organic expansion and acquisitions to operate a broad portfolio of assets spanning listed equities, futures and options, fixed income, and over-the-counter derivatives.

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