Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Nasdaq from a "sell" to a "hold," while the consensus among analysts is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $107.15 and several firms raising targets or issuing buy/outperform ratings.
• Nasdaq beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.96 EPS vs. $0.93 expected and $2.14 billion in revenue (vs. $1.42 billion expected), with revenue up 13.7% year-over-year.
• Insiders have been net sellers — 531,002 shares sold in the last 90 days (about $49.37M) — while institutional investors own roughly 72.47% of the stock and insiders hold 0.70%.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on NDAQ. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Nasdaq from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $120.00 price target (up from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Nasdaq from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $105.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.15.

Nasdaq Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Nasdaq stock opened at $91.32 on Friday. Nasdaq has a 12-month low of $76.86 and a 12-month high of $101.79. The stock has a market cap of $51.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The business's 50 day moving average is $86.49 and its 200-day moving average is $89.65.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.03. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 23.15%.The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. The business's revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Nasdaq will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.82, for a total value of $117,508.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at $896,104.98. This represents a 11.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cohen Tal sold 15,518 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.75, for a total value of $1,408,258.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 215,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,530,126. This represents a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 531,002 shares of company stock valued at $49,368,941. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 318 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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