Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) Shares Up 5.1% - Still a Buy?

Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 5.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $788.30 and last traded at $783.92. 1,200,379 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 119% from the average session volume of 548,187 shares. The stock had previously closed at $745.53.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Equinix from $1,000.00 to $950.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Equinix from $975.00 to $935.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. TD Securities raised their price objective on shares of Equinix from $978.00 to $1,018.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Equinix from $970.00 to $990.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $1,200.00 price objective on shares of Equinix in a research report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and six have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equinix currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $977.30.

Equinix Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $76.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.61, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $867.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $882.41.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $9.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.01 by $0.66. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.23 billion. Equinix had a net margin of 10.48% and a return on equity of 6.96%. Equinix's revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $8.86 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinix Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st were given a $4.69 dividend. This represents a $18.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 21st. Equinix's dividend payout ratio is currently 195.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equinix

In other news, CEO Adaire Fox-Martin sold 2,949 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $884.91, for a total value of $2,609,599.59. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,615 shares in the company, valued at $8,508,409.65. The trade was a 23.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Christopher B. Paisley sold 100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $869.41, for a total value of $86,941.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,569 shares in the company, valued at $15,274,664.29. The trade was a 0.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,176 shares of company stock valued at $2,808,008. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EQIX. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Equinix by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 326 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG bought a new position in Equinix during the fourth quarter worth about $2,027,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Equinix by 434.1% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 486 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $459,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Equinix by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 756 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $713,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in Equinix by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,224 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,154,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Equinix

Equinix Nasdaq: EQIX is the world's digital infrastructure company . Digital leaders harness Equinix's trusted platform to bring together and interconnect foundational infrastructure at software speed. Equinix enables organizations to access all the right places, partners and possibilities to scale with agility, speed the launch of digital services, deliver world-class experiences and multiply their value, while supporting their sustainability goals.

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