Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

NDAQ has been the subject of several other research reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on Nasdaq from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Nasdaq from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays lowered their price objective on Nasdaq from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $84.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Nasdaq from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $74.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.88.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NDAQ stock traded up $5.59 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.99. The company had a trading volume of 8,491,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,826,257. Nasdaq has a 52 week low of $58.10 and a 52 week high of $84.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $77.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.45.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.82%. As a group, analysts predict that Nasdaq will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other news, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total value of $1,102,179.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 59,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,398,253.92. This trade represents a 20.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total value of $285,460.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,532,778.56. This trade represents a 5.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,116 shares of company stock worth $1,434,818 over the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 58,929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,302,000 after buying an additional 4,800 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Nasdaq by 23.1% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 30,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,214,000 after acquiring an additional 5,682 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the third quarter valued at about $208,000. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 34.4% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 5,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 1,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 49.8% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 164,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,987,000 after acquiring an additional 54,594 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Company Profile

Nasdaq, Inc operates as a technology company that serves capital markets and other industries worldwide. It operates in three segments: Capital Access Platforms, Financial Technology, and Market Services. The Capital Access Platforms segment sells and distributes historical and real-time market data; and develops and licenses Nasdaq-branded indices and financial products.