CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Given New $324.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley lowered its price target on CME Group to $324 from $353, while maintaining an overweight rating. The new target still implies about 36% upside from the prior close.
• CME’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with $3.36 EPS versus the $3.11 estimate and revenue of $1.88 billion versus $1.77 billion expected. Revenue rose 14.5% year over year.
• Recent headlines include both product expansion and regulatory headwinds: CME launched Treasury LINK and an agriculture index, but the CFTC is moving to block its plan for 24/7 crude oil futures trading.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $353.00 to $324.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price points to a potential upside of 36.16% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on CME. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of CME Group from $342.00 to $322.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $316.00 to $270.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $310.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $293.59.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME opened at $237.96 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $86.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.25. 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 business's fifty day moving average is $263.60 and its 200-day moving average is $283.49.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.25. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 63.19%.The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. CME Group's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that CME Group will post 12.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total transaction of $1,752,536.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,438,860.26. This trade represents a 17.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total value of $10,447,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at $16,606,111.30. The trade was a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of CME Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 4.3% in the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 898 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 64.9% in the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 11,523 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,147,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 1248 Management LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 26.8% in the third quarter. 1248 Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sovran Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 1,118 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME Group announced Treasury LINK, a new product designed to simplify U.S. Treasury spread trading and potentially attract more hedging activity and volume. CME Group to launch Treasury LINK for enhanced US Treasury spread trading
• Positive Sentiment: The company also highlighted a new agriculture index aimed at providing a unified price benchmark for the global farm economy, which may broaden CME’s product lineup and reinforce its role in commodities trading. CME Group's New Agriculture Index Delivers Unified Price Benchmark for the Global Farm Economy
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays lowered its price target on CME Group to $270 from $316 while keeping an equal-weight rating, signaling softer expectations but still implying some upside from current levels. CME Group NASDAQ: CME Price Target Cut to $270.00 by Analysts at Barclays
• Neutral Sentiment: Separate coverage noted that weak trading volumes and competition are weighing on CME Group’s shares, pointing to a more cautious near-term outlook for exchange revenue. Competition And Weaker Trading Volumes Are Weighing On CME Group (CME) Stock
• Negative Sentiment: The biggest drag is the U.S. CFTC’s move to block CME’s plan for 24/7 crude oil futures trading, which could delay a potentially meaningful product expansion and signals regulatory friction. CFTC to block CME's plan for 24/7 crude oil futures trading
• Negative Sentiment: Additional reports said the CFTC will also block CME’s attempt to fast-track 24/7 oil contracts, reinforcing regulatory headwinds around the company’s trading-hours expansion plans. CFTC set to block CME effort to fast-track 24/7 oil contracts - report

About CME Group

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.

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