Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Intercontinental Exchange from “sell” to “hold,” while broader analyst sentiment remains a “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $183.33.
• ICE reported quarterly EPS of $1.90, beating estimates of $1.84, and revenue of $3.61 billion; revenue increased 4.8% year over year.
• Insiders sold 20,200 shares worth approximately $3.04 million over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own a substantial 89.3% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on ICE. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $177.00 target price (up from $159.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $208.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $187.00 to $163.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $183.33.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ICE opened at $161.29 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $142.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $151.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.55 billion, a PE ratio of 22.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Intercontinental Exchange has a fifty-two week low of $121.79 and a fifty-two week high of $181.65.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 14.95% and a net margin of 30.08%.Intercontinental Exchange's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.81 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange will post 8.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Intercontinental Exchange

In related news, SVP Douglas Foley sold 7,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.88, for a total value of $1,086,824.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,838,099.44. The trade was a 27.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 4,573 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.56, for a total transaction of $693,083.88. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 45,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,891,887.88. The trade was a 9.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,200 shares of company stock worth $3,035,385. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intercontinental Exchange

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ICE. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in 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 valued at $8,770,647,000 after purchasing an additional 413,639 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 53,798,055 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the second quarter worth about $6,245,085,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,653,952 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,154,914,000 after acquiring an additional 837,208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,875,593 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,571,212,000 after acquiring an additional 158,450 shares during the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Intercontinental Exchange Company Profile

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.

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