Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein

Key Points

• Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage with an outperform rating and a $1,128 price target, implying about 16.4% upside; the analyst consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $1,006.91 (2 Strong Buy, 21 Buy, 5 Hold).
• Equinix's latest quarter missed estimates (EPS $8.91 vs. $9.07; revenue $2.42B vs. $2.46B), and the stock trades near $969 with a market cap of ~$95.2B and a high P/E of ~70.5.
• Insiders sold 13,602 shares (~$11.37M) in the past three months, leaving insider ownership at 0.27%, while institutional investors hold about 94.94% of the stock.

Equities research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) in a note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an "outperform" rating and a $1,128.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock. Sanford C. Bernstein's price objective points to a potential upside of 16.40% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Equinix from $973.00 to $1,087.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Equinix from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Equinix from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Equinix in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $1,075.00 price target on shares of Equinix in a report on Friday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,006.91.

Equinix Price Performance

Shares of Equinix stock opened at $969.04 on Thursday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $844.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $805.04. Equinix has a twelve month low of $701.41 and a twelve month high of $992.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.48, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.04.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $8.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.07 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. Equinix had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 14.65%.The business's revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.92 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Equinix will post 33.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jonathan Lin sold 888 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $801.78, for a total transaction of $711,980.64. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,390 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,528,714.20. The trade was a 8.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Charles J. Meyers sold 2,716 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $965.15, for a total value of $2,621,347.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 12,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,155,099.10. This trade represents a 17.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 13,602 shares of company stock worth $11,369,645 over the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equinix

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC increased its position in shares of Equinix by 21.1% in the second quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 384 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in Equinix by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 544,462 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $426,444,000 after purchasing an additional 7,409 shares during the period. Chilton Capital Management LLC grew its position in Equinix by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 36,908 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,908,000 after purchasing an additional 1,805 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Equinix by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,875,355 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,252,094,000 after purchasing an additional 588,967 shares during the period. Finally, Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Equinix by 10.0% in the third quarter. Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership now owns 26,139 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,425,000 after purchasing an additional 2,378 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equinix Company Profile

Equinix, Inc is a global provider of digital infrastructure and interconnection services, specializing in carrier-neutral data centers and colocation. The company operates a platform that enables enterprises, cloud and network service providers, and content companies to colocate IT infrastructure, interconnect directly with partners and providers, and access cloud on-ramps and network services in a secure, low-latency environment.

Equinix's offerings include traditional colocation space and power, cross-connects and meet-me rooms, and a suite of connectivity and on-demand services designed for hybrid multicloud architectures.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.