Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) Hits New 12-Month High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Intercontinental Exchange hit a 52-week high, trading as high as $176.65.
• Analysts have a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $189.25, above the recent trading price.
• Quarterly earnings beat expectations at $2.02 per share versus $1.97, while revenue rose 14.7% year over year.

Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday. The company traded as high as $176.65 and last traded at $176.7320, with a volume of 3,869 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.92.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ICE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $167.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and set a $178.00 price objective (up from $169.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $195.00 target price (up from $190.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $189.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $189.25.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $158.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.74 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 15.32% and a net margin of 29.62%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.71 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In related news, SVP Douglas Foley sold 1,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $256,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,863 shares in the company, valued at $2,538,080. The trade was a 9.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO James W. Namkung sold 2,430 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $400,950.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 14,102 shares in the company, valued at $2,326,830. This trade represents a 14.70% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 36,309 shares of company stock valued at $5,787,841 over the last 90 days. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange during the second quarter worth approximately $6,245,085,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,966,680 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,196,758,000 after purchasing an additional 415,490 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,812,273 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,454,209,000 after purchasing an additional 1,634,385 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $714,869,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,298,162 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $652,257,000 after purchasing an additional 52,910 shares during the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Intercontinental Exchange Company Profile

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc NYSE: ICE is a global operator of exchanges, clearinghouses, data services and technology platforms. The company owns and operates the New York Stock Exchange and other exchanges serving equity, options, futures and over-the-counter markets. Its marketplaces support trading in areas including energy, agricultural commodities, interest rates, currencies, equity indexes and individual stocks.

ICE also provides clearing and settlement services that help manage counterparty and transaction risk, along with market data, analytics, connectivity and other technology solutions for financial institutions and businesses.

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