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

Key Points

• NiCE shares opened sharply lower, falling from a prior close of $106.27 to $96.04, despite the company reporting third-quarter results above analyst estimates.
• Third-quarter revenue increased 8% year over year to $790.7 million, while EPS of $2.84 beat the $2.78 consensus. However, non-GAAP earnings declined year over year, tempering the positive results.
• NiCE plans to cut about 5% of its workforce, or roughly 500 employees. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $131.71.

NiCE (NASDAQ:NICE - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday. The stock had previously closed at $106.27, but opened at $96.04. NiCE shares last traded at $101.2960, with a volume of 274,629 shares.

Key NiCE News

Here are the key news stories impacting NiCE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue rose 8% to $790.7 million, topping estimates; cloud revenue grew 10.6%. Reported EPS also exceeded consensus, and NiCE said results surpassed its guidance ranges. NiCE third-quarter results
• Neutral Sentiment: NiCE is expanding its AI customer-service push in EMEA beyond enterprise pilots. The initiative supports its AI growth strategy, though the report provides no financial outlook or expected near-term impact. NiCE EMEA AI expansion
• Negative Sentiment: Non-GAAP earnings declined year over year, tempering the positive revenue growth and helping explain investor caution despite the quarterly beat. NiCE non-GAAP earnings and revenue
• Negative Sentiment: The company plans to reduce its workforce by about 5%—roughly 500 employees. While this may lower costs, the scale of the cuts can raise concerns about execution and business conditions. NiCE workforce-reduction announcement

Analyst Ratings Changes

NICE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised NiCE from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of NiCE in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of NiCE in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Yorkville Ives initiated coverage on NiCE in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on NiCE from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NiCE currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $131.71.

NiCE Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.04. The company has a market capitalization of $5.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.77.

NiCE (NASDAQ:NICE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The technology company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $790.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $785.75 million. NiCE had a return on equity of 15.46% and a net margin of 13.86%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.18 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that NiCE will post 8.60 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at NiCE

In other NiCE news, VP Udi Dayan sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $50,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,000. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NiCE

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in NiCE by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 368,464 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $40,999,000 after buying an additional 2,485 shares during the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in NiCE by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,006 shares of the technology company's stock worth $557,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in NiCE by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,527 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in NiCE in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Finally, Guardian Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in NiCE by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 24,161 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,688,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. 63.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiCE Company Profile

NICE Ltd. NASDAQ: NICE is a technology company that provides cloud-based software and artificial intelligence solutions for customer experience, employee engagement, and business operations. Its platforms help organizations manage customer interactions across voice, digital, and other communication channels while using analytics and automation to improve service and operational performance.

The company's portfolio includes NICE CXone, a cloud customer experience platform that supports contact-center operations, workforce management, analytics, and digital engagement.

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