UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Stock

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by research analysts at UBS Group from $82.00 to $95.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the financial services provider's stock. UBS Group's price target would suggest a potential upside of 6.25% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on NDAQ. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Nasdaq from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $96.00 price target (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut Nasdaq from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $74.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Nasdaq from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $91.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $90.69.

Nasdaq Stock Down 1.5%

NDAQ stock traded down $1.32 on Thursday, hitting $89.41. 2,433,101 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,079,179. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $84.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.74. The stock has a market cap of $51.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.01. Nasdaq has a 12-month low of $62.14 and a 12-month high of $90.84.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 15.38% and a net margin of 16.36%. The company's revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Nasdaq will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 11,508 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.87, for a total value of $1,022,715.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 111,035 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,867,680.45. This trade represents a 9.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.17, for a total value of $187,702.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 94,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,440,475.52. This represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,613 shares of company stock valued at $1,874,659. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NDAQ. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth $424,285,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the first quarter worth $241,614,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,005,047 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $464,676,000 after buying an additional 1,650,201 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 40.8% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,494,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $416,795,000 after buying an additional 1,592,057 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,379,012 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $802,401,000 after buying an additional 1,225,672 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.