Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) Stock

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $181.00 to $192.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target points to a potential upside of 7.42% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on ICE. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $189.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $190.00 to $189.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com raised Intercontinental Exchange from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $237.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $185.93.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

Shares of ICE stock traded up $2.26 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $178.73. 3,313,509 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,947,980. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $102.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.12. The stock's fifty day moving average is $166.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $161.00. Intercontinental Exchange has a fifty-two week low of $131.79 and a fifty-two week high of $179.44.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.44 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 23.42%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In other news, President Benjamin Jackson sold 17,104 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.62, for a total transaction of $2,849,868.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 155,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,855,091.88. This trade represents a 9.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Judith A. Sprieser sold 2,630 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total transaction of $418,170.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 21,364 shares in the company, valued at $3,396,876. This trade represents a 10.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 42,368 shares of company stock valued at $7,077,789. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intercontinental Exchange

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ICE. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 116.7% in the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Tsfg LLC grew its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 187.3% in the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 158 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 595.8% during the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 167 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Intercontinental Exchange Company Profile

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of market infrastructure, data services, and technology solutions for financial institutions, corporations, and government entities in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Singapore, India, Abu Dhabi, Israel, and Canada.