Rothschild & Co Redburn Issues Pessimistic Forecast for CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Stock Price

Key Points

• Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered its price target on CME to $340 from $347 and kept a "neutral" rating, implying roughly a 14.16% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but overall positive: MarketBeat shows a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $308.76 and ratings ranging from Strong Buy to Sell.
• CME's fundamentals are solid—shares around $297.83, 52‑week range $251.90–$329.16, a recent EPS beat and ~62% net margin—while insiders have trimmed positions and institutional ownership is about 87.75%.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by equities researchers at Rothschild & Co Redburn from $347.00 to $340.00 in a report issued on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn's target price would indicate a potential upside of 14.16% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded CME Group from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on CME Group from $312.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Erste Group Bank upgraded CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on CME Group from $340.00 to $362.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $308.76.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME opened at $297.83 on Monday. CME Group has a 52-week low of $251.90 and a 52-week high of $329.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The business's 50 day moving average price is $306.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $284.70. The firm has a market cap of $106.81 billion, a PE ratio of 26.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.26.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 62.45%.The company's revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CME Group will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $224,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,699 shares in the company, valued at $809,700. This represents a 21.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total value of $1,097,120.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 7,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,397,597.04. This trade represents a 31.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 8,539 shares of company stock worth $2,713,821 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 156,976 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,867,000 after acquiring an additional 22,286 shares during the period. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in CME Group by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 38,985 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,646,000 after purchasing an additional 1,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Winthrop Partners WNY LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth about $2,280,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world's largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company's core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.

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