Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Price Target Raised to $109.00 at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays raised its price target for Nasdaq (NDAQ) from $101.00 to $109.00, reflecting a potential upside of 15.86% from its current trading price.
• The consensus rating for Nasdaq is a "Moderate Buy," with 14 out of 18 analysts recommending buy ratings, and an average price target of $96.63.
• In its latest earnings report, Nasdaq reported $0.85 earnings per share and revenue of $1.31 billion, exceeding analysts' expectations.
• Recent insider transactions include sales by executive Jeremy Skule, who sold over 2,100 shares, indicating a 2.18% decrease in his ownership.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by research analysts at Barclays from $101.00 to $109.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Barclays's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 14.93% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on NDAQ. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $101.00 price target (up previously from $96.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $96.00 target price (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $96.63.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NDAQ stock traded up $1.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $94.84. The company had a trading volume of 5,276,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,258,497. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $86.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.62. Nasdaq has a 12 month low of $64.33 and a 12 month high of $95.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $54.45 billion, a PE ratio of 36.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.26 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 18.59% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Nasdaq will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 8,000 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.03, for a total value of $664,240.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 211,405 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,552,957.15. The trade was a 3.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 11,508 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.87, for a total value of $1,022,715.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 111,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,867,680.45. The trade was a 9.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,613 shares of company stock valued at $1,874,659 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nasdaq

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,979,661 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,019,037,000 after purchasing an additional 403,248 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 20,433,885 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,550,115,000 after purchasing an additional 993,553 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Nasdaq by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,018,705 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $849,783,000 after acquiring an additional 257,465 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Nasdaq by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,379,012 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $802,401,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225,672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harris Associates L P raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 8,693,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $659,487,000 after buying an additional 101,983 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq, Inc operates as a technology company that serves capital markets and other industries worldwide. It operates in three segments: Capital Access Platforms, Financial Technology, and Market Services. The Capital Access Platforms segment sells and distributes historical and real-time market data; and develops and licenses Nasdaq-branded indices and financial products.