Short Interest in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Declines By 34.2%

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 6,083,576 shares, a drop of 34.2% from the August 15th total of 9,248,434 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,616,255 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $111.00 target price (up from $108.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Nasdaq from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research upgraded Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 target price (up from $101.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.30.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 1,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.22, for a total value of $105,997.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 101,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,534,875.56. The trade was a 1.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Nelson Griggs sold 11,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.35, for a total transaction of $1,060,813.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 205,001 shares in the company, valued at $19,751,846.35. This trade represents a 5.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,922 shares of company stock valued at $4,032,316. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nasdaq

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Nasdaq by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,855,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $277,329,000 after purchasing an additional 45,783 shares in the last quarter. MKP Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,996,000. National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 673,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,458,000 after acquiring an additional 68,368 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth about $530,100,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,063,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $103,276,000 after acquiring an additional 26,185 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nasdaq Trading Up 2.9%

NASDAQ NDAQ traded up $2.55 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $91.31. 3,662,668 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,844,990. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.59. Nasdaq has a 1-year low of $76.55 and a 1-year high of $101.79. The firm has a market cap of $51.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.62, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 18.38% and a net margin of 22.60%.The company’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Nasdaq will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is presently 36.15%.

Nasdaq Company Profile

Nasdaq, Inc (NASDAQ:NDAQ) operates financial markets and provides technology, data and analytics services to exchanges, brokers, institutional investors, corporations and other financial institutions. The company is best known for operating the Nasdaq Stock Market, a major U.S. equities exchange and a prominent venue for technology and growth companies.

Nasdaq’s businesses include listings, trading, market data, indexes, clearing and market infrastructure solutions. Through its technology platforms, the company provides exchange operators and financial institutions with systems for trading, surveillance, risk management, regulatory compliance and other market functions.