NiCE (NASDAQ:NICE) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• NiCE shares gapped up, opening at $122.08 vs. the prior close of $112.90 and trading around $124.27 on heavy volume, a jump of roughly 10.5%.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: six Buys, seven Holds and one Sell with a MarketBeat consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $144.17, while several firms (including Citigroup and RBC) recently cut targets or ratings.
• Fundamentals and corporate actions are supportive — NiCE beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates with revenue up 9% year-over-year, set FY26 guidance, and authorized a $600 million share buyback (about 9.6% of shares outstanding).

Shares of NiCE (NASDAQ:NICE - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $112.90, but opened at $122.08. NiCE shares last traded at $124.2660, with a volume of 284,357 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of NiCE in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of NiCE in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on NiCE from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Zacks Research upgraded NiCE from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Citigroup cut NiCE from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $184.00 to $119.00 in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $144.17.

NiCE Stock Up 10.5%

The stock has a market cap of $7.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.82. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $111.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.03.

NiCE (NASDAQ:NICE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The technology company reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.23 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $786.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $779.95 million. NiCE had a return on equity of 18.26% and a net margin of 20.78%.The company's revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.02 EPS. NiCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.850-11.050 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.450-2.550 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that NiCE will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiCE declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 19th that permits the company to repurchase $600.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to purchase up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NiCE

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. RPD Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in NiCE during the 4th quarter worth approximately $100,154,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP purchased a new stake in NiCE in the 4th quarter worth about $79,944,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC purchased a new stake in NiCE in the 3rd quarter worth about $88,599,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its position in NiCE by 36.0% during the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 880,059 shares of the technology company's stock worth $99,482,000 after acquiring an additional 233,080 shares during the period. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its stake in NiCE by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,256,752 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $142,063,000 after acquiring an additional 227,631 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.34% of the company's stock.

About NiCE

NiCE Ltd is a global software provider specializing in solutions for customer engagement, financial crime prevention, public safety, workforce optimization and border security. Its product offerings include cloud-native and on-premises platforms that leverage advanced analytics, artificial intelligence and automation to help organizations enhance customer experiences, streamline operations and ensure regulatory compliance. NiCE’s portfolio addresses the needs of contact centers, financial institutions, government agencies and enterprises across a broad range of industries.

In customer engagement, NiCE delivers tools for omnichannel interaction management, real-time and historical analytics, workforce management, and quality management.

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