Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Analyst Says

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target on Nasdaq to $97 (from $92) while keeping a "market perform" rating, implying roughly a 9.4% upside; the broker consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $107.15.
• Q1 beat: Nasdaq reported $0.96 EPS vs. $0.93 consensus and revenue of $2.14 billion (up 13.7% YoY), and the board raised the quarterly dividend to $0.31 (about a 14.8% increase).
• Insider selling: CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares for roughly $29.1M and insiders sold a total of 506,451 shares (~$47.1M) last quarter, a potential cautionary signal despite strong institutional ownership.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $92.00 to $97.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "market perform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' target price would suggest a potential upside of 9.36% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on NDAQ. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $109.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Loop Capital set a $113.00 target price on Nasdaq in a report on Friday. TD Cowen raised Nasdaq from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $106.00 in a report on Thursday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $107.15.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of Nasdaq stock traded up $1.66 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $88.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,342,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,138,961. Nasdaq has a 12-month low of $74.11 and a 12-month high of $101.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $85.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.60. The company has a market cap of $50.42 billion, a PE ratio of 28.67, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.02.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 16.90% and a net margin of 21.77%.The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Nasdaq will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.91, for a total transaction of $29,073,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,924,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $186,542,349.73. This represents a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 506,451 shares of company stock worth $47,142,951 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,916,887 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,819,727,000 after purchasing an additional 268,481 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,627,767 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,683,485,000 after purchasing an additional 1,258,964 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,878,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,930,808,000 after purchasing an additional 259,408 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,851,894 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,243,807,000 after purchasing an additional 378,577 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 62.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,266,562 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $900,061,000 after purchasing an additional 3,567,843 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Nasdaq this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat on EPS and revenue — Nasdaq reported $0.96 EPS vs. $0.93 consensus and posted double‑digit revenue growth year‑over‑year, with Solutions and FinTech contributing to the upside. This beat is the main catalyst for the stock move. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase — the board raised the quarterly dividend to $0.31 (a ~14.8% hike), signaling confidence in cash flow and returning capital to shareholders. That supports income‑focused demand for the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: AI and cloud growth driving secular tailwinds — management emphasized AI and cloud adoption across clients as a growth driver for Nasdaq’s data, analytics and technology services, supporting higher-margin recurring revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst backdrop is constructive — several firms maintain overweight/buy views and the median price target in recent notes sits well above the current price, providing further support for the rally. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings materials and call transcript available — investors can review the slide deck and Q&A for forward guidance and segment detail; these materials may refine expectations but didn’t materially change the headline beat. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed institutional flows — recent filings show both large additions and sizable trims by major funds, suggesting interest from active managers but also profit‑taking; monitor 13F changes for potential volatility. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Notable insider selling — recent disclosures show insider stock sales (including by senior executives), which can be interpreted as a cautionary signal even if sales are for diversification or tax reasons. Article Title

About Nasdaq

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.