UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Stock Price

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by UBS Group from $82.00 to $95.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the financial services provider's stock. UBS Group's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 5.82% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on NDAQ. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $96.00 price target (up from $84.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $90.69.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NDAQ traded down $0.96 on Thursday, reaching $89.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 670,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,282,623. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Nasdaq has a 12-month low of $62.14 and a 12-month high of $90.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.80, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.01. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $84.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.67.

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

Insider Transactions 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 shares were sold at an average price of $88.87, for a total transaction 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 $9,867,680.45. This represents a 9.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.03, for a total transaction of $664,240.00. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,613 shares of company stock valued at $1,874,659. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nasdaq

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NDAQ. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 7.7% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 43,161 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,274,000 after buying an additional 3,096 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 61.1% in the first quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 17,842 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,353,000 after acquiring an additional 6,764 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 1.2% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,268,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $172,098,000 after acquiring an additional 27,622 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 892.3% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 60,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,689,000 after acquiring an additional 54,535 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth $48,749,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Company Profile

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.