Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Equinix from $1,075 to $1,250 and maintains an "overweight" rating, implying roughly a 20% upside from the prior close.
• Equinix's most recent quarter missed consensus EPS ($8.91 vs. $9.07) and revenue ($2.42B vs. $2.46B) despite 7% year‑over‑year revenue growth, and the stock trades near its one‑year high with a P/E of about 75.5.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive (majority Buy/Strong Buy, average target ≈ $1,033.57), institutional investors own ~94.9% of shares, while insiders sold roughly $14.9M of stock over the past three months.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $1,075.00 to $1,250.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective indicates a potential upside of 20.21% from the stock's previous close.

EQIX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Equinix in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group upped their target price on Equinix from $950.00 to $1,010.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Scotiabank lowered Equinix from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $997.00 to $1,050.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Zacks Research upgraded Equinix from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Equinix from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,033.57.

Equinix Price Performance

NASDAQ EQIX traded up $9.64 during trading on Monday, reaching $1,039.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 34,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 622,053. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.56 billion, a PE ratio of 75.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $947.49 and a 200 day moving average of $842.73. Equinix has a one year low of $710.52 and a one year high of $1,039.90.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $8.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $9.07 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. Equinix had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 14.65%.Equinix'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. Analysts expect that Equinix will post 33.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Equinix

In related news, insider Brandi Galvin Morandi sold 424 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,020.00, for a total transaction of $432,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,970 shares in the company, valued at $10,169,400. This represents a 4.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Adaire Fox-Martin sold 1,086 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $966.20, for a total value of $1,049,293.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 19,574 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,912,398.80. This represents a 5.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 17,266 shares of company stock worth $14,927,320 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equinix

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new stake in Equinix in the 4th quarter worth approximately $588,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in Equinix by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 444,635 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $340,795,000 after buying an additional 25,259 shares during the period. Stance Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Equinix in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,415,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Equinix by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 112,474 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $86,174,000 after buying an additional 30,572 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors raised its position in shares of Equinix by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 842 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $645,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

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.

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