Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE)

Key Points

• ICE call-option activity surged: Investors purchased 51,408 call options, representing a 1,427% increase over the average daily volume of 3,366.
• Insiders have been selling shares: Company insiders sold 39,579 shares worth approximately $6.2 million over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 89.3% of the stock.
• Analysts remain broadly positive: ICE has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $184.17, compared with a recent share price of $156.90. The company also exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.90 in EPS versus the $1.84 consensus estimate.

Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 51,408 call options on the company. This is an increase of 1,427% compared to the average daily volume of 3,366 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Douglas Foley sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $256,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 17,463 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,794,080. This represents a 8.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 4,574 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.77, for a total value of $739,935.98. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 43,065 shares in the company, valued at $6,966,625.05. This trade represents a 9.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 39,579 shares of company stock worth $6,217,715 in the last ninety days. 0.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intercontinental Exchange

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ICE. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1.4% in the second quarter. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 5,116 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $630,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 14,388 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,460 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,173,317 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $144,447,000 after purchasing an additional 39,430 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,703,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 86.5% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 136,793 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $16,841,000 after purchasing an additional 63,456 shares in the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ICE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $187.00 to $163.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $178.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Friday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $208.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $184.17.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

Shares of ICE traded down $0.85 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $156.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,191,398 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,919,879. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $152.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $151.73. Intercontinental Exchange has a 52-week low of $121.79 and a 52-week high of $176.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $88.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.93.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.06. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 14.95%. The company had revenue of $3.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. Intercontinental Exchange's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Intercontinental Exchange

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc NYSE: ICE operates global exchanges, clearinghouses, data services and technology platforms. The company provides marketplaces for trading and clearing a range of financial and commodity products, including energy, agricultural commodities, interest rates, credit and equities.

ICE owns and operates the New York Stock Exchange and related equity markets, as well as futures and options exchanges in North America and Europe. Its businesses also include ICE Data Services, which provides market data, analytics, connectivity and other information services to financial institutions and corporations.

Through ICE Mortgage Technology, the company offers software and digital platforms designed to support residential mortgage origination, processing, servicing and related workflows.

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