Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) Price Target Raised to $187.00 at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $183 to $187 while keeping an "equal weight" rating, implying roughly a 15.5% upside
• Earnings beat: ICE reported Q results with EPS of $1.71 (vs. $1.67 est.) and revenue of $3.14B (vs. $2.51B est.), with a net margin of 26.2% and analysts projecting FY EPS of 6.73.
• Insider selling: CEO Jeffrey Sprecher sold 150,000 shares at about $155 (an 8.33% reduction in his stake), and insiders have sold roughly 348,418 shares worth $54.2M in the past 90 days.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $187.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target would indicate a potential upside of 15.54% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on ICE. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $195.00 price objective (down from $202.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Wednesday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $188.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $192.20.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Down 3.5%

ICE opened at $161.85 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $91.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.05, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company's 50 day moving average is $160.52 and its 200-day moving average is $160.41. Intercontinental Exchange has a 1-year low of $143.17 and a 1-year high of $189.35.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.51 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 26.23% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. Equities research analysts predict 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, CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $23,250,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,651,705 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $256,014,275. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 15,213 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.02, for a total value of $2,358,319.26. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 64,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,055,992.38. This trade represents a 19.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 348,418 shares of company stock worth $54,196,631 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Intercontinental Exchange

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,153,170 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,770,647,000 after purchasing an additional 413,639 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 17,398.1% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 54,107,273 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,763,214,000 after buying an additional 53,798,055 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,653,952 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,154,914,000 after buying an additional 837,208 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,875,593 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,571,212,000 after buying an additional 158,450 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 64.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,354,224 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,744,480,000 after acquiring an additional 4,067,922 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.30% of the company's stock.

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.

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.