The Goldman Sachs Group Has Lowered Expectations for Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) Stock Price

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs cut its price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $208 to $180, while keeping a buy rating. The new target still implies about 46.6% upside from the stock’s current price.
• Other analysts remain generally positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $188.58. Recent targets ranged from $177 to $211, showing some variation in expectations.
• ICE reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS estimates and posting 20.4% revenue growth year over year. The stock was trading near its 52-week low, while insiders and institutions continued to adjust holdings.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group from $208.00 to $180.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the financial services provider's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price target points to a potential upside of 46.63% from the stock's current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $177.00 price objective on Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered Intercontinental Exchange from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $211.00 price target (up from $195.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $188.58.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

Shares of ICE stock opened at $122.76 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $147.11 and a 200-day moving average of $157.36. Intercontinental Exchange has a one year low of $121.79 and a one year high of $189.35. The company has a market cap of $69.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.92.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.12. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 30.06% and a return on equity of 14.99%. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.72 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange will post 8.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,490 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.64, for a total transaction of $390,033.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,945,604.96. This trade represents a 9.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sharon Bowen sold 667 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $100,903.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,280,848.56. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 13,425 shares of company stock worth $2,046,324 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ICE. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 17,398.1% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 54,107,273 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,763,214,000 after acquiring an additional 53,798,055 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter worth about $1,418,228,000. Viking Global Investors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter worth about $777,926,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 64.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,354,224 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,744,480,000 after buying an additional 4,067,922 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 148.6% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,203,845 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $519,701,000 after acquiring an additional 1,914,851 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Company Profile

Intercontinental Exchange NYSE: ICE is a global operator of exchanges, clearing houses and data services that provides infrastructure for the trading, clearing, settlement and information needs of financial and commodity markets. Founded in 2000 by Jeffrey C. Sprecher as an electronic energy trading platform, the company has grown through organic expansion and acquisitions to operate a broad portfolio of assets spanning listed equities, futures and options, fixed income, and over-the-counter derivatives.

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