Morgan Stanley Cuts Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Price Target to $112.00

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley cut its price target on Nasdaq from $116 to $112, while keeping an overweight rating. The new target still implies about 26% upside from the current share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with Nasdaq carrying an average Buy rating and an average price target of $106.92. Other firms have also recently adjusted their views, including Barclays lowering its target to $108.
• Nasdaq recently reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting $0.96 EPS versus $0.93 expected and $2.14 billion in revenue versus $1.42 billion expected. Revenue rose 13.7% year over year, and the stock was up 1.4% in Friday trading.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $112.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price would suggest a potential upside of 26.25% from the stock's current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $114.00 to $108.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $113.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $106.92.

Nasdaq Stock Up 1.4%

Nasdaq stock opened at $88.72 on Friday. Nasdaq has a 1-year low of $76.55 and a 1-year high of $101.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $87.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.02.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 23.15%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Nasdaq will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other news, insider Cohen Tal sold 15,518 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.75, for a total transaction of $1,408,258.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 215,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,530,126. The trade was a 6.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 7,710 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.82, for a total transaction of $700,222.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 141,035 shares in the company, valued at $12,808,798.70. This represents a 5.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 24,551 shares of company stock worth $2,225,990. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NDAQ. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth approximately $530,100,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 62.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,266,562 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $900,061,000 after buying an additional 3,567,843 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 82.0% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 6,073,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $589,897,000 after purchasing an additional 2,736,322 shares during the period. Harris Associates L P increased its holdings in Nasdaq by 46.0% during the fourth quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 8,621,689 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $837,425,000 after buying an additional 2,716,280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in Nasdaq by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,619,192 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,735,318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404,348 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Company Profile

Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology company that operates one of the world's leading electronic securities exchanges and provides a broad array of products and services to capital markets participants. Its core activities include operating the Nasdaq Stock Market and other trading venues, developing and supplying market technology and matching engines to exchanges and trading firms, licensing market data and indices, and offering clearing, trade execution and post-trade solutions. The company also provides market surveillance, risk management and regulatory technology used by exchanges and regulators.

Founded in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) as the first electronic stock market, Nasdaq has evolved into a diversified marketplace and technology provider.

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