Nice (NASDAQ:NICE) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Key Points

• Nice shares gapped down from a previous close of $144.65 to an opening price of $140.07, ultimately trading at $143.77 with a volume of 105,272 shares.
• Multiple analysts have issued price targets for Nice, with Morgan Stanley lowering its target from $235.00 to $202.00, while Cantor Fitzgerald set a target of $161.00.
• Institutional investors own approximately 63.34% of Nice's stock, with notable increases in holdings from several asset management firms during the second quarter.

Nice (NASDAQ:NICE - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $144.65, but opened at $140.07. Nice shares last traded at $143.77, with a volume of 105,272 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on NICE shares. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Nice in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Nice from $214.00 to $211.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Nice in a research report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $161.00 price target on shares of Nice in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Nice in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $205.25.

Nice Price Performance

The company's 50-day moving average is $160.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.89. The firm has a market cap of $8.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.91, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.98.

Nice (NASDAQ:NICE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The technology company reported $3.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $726.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $713.18 million. Nice had a net margin of 18.92% and a return on equity of 17.64%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.64 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Nice will post 9.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Nice

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NICE. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new stake in Nice during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $313,808,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Nice by 1,125.3% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 768,737 shares of the technology company's stock worth $118,516,000 after buying an additional 705,997 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Nice by 116.1% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,226,920 shares of the technology company's stock worth $207,238,000 after buying an additional 659,170 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Nice during the 1st quarter worth approximately $98,485,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Nice by 218.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 908,014 shares of the technology company's stock worth $139,989,000 after buying an additional 623,014 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.34% of the company's stock.

Nice Company Profile

NICE Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides cloud platforms for AI-driven digital business solutions worldwide. It offers CXone, a cloud native open platform; Enlighten, an AI engine for the customer engagement market; and smart self service enable organizations to address consumers' needs; and journey orchestration solutions that empower organizations to connect and route customers to deal with the customer's request, and connects them using real time AI-based routing.