Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Now Covered by William Blair

Equities research analysts at William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) in a report issued on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

NDAQ has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Nasdaq from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.87.

Nasdaq Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $81.07 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. Nasdaq has a 52-week low of $53.62 and a 52-week high of $81.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $75.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.15.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.05. Nasdaq had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 14.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Nasdaq will post 2.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.71, for a total value of $454,260.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 215,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,320,274.73. This trade represents a 2.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 12,075 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.75, for a total transaction of $950,906.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,072,268.75. The trade was a 10.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,459 shares of company stock worth $3,811,808 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nasdaq

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Nasdaq by 12.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 517,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,624,000 after buying an additional 57,900 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Nasdaq in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,595,000. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in Nasdaq by 45.2% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 28,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,736,000 after purchasing an additional 8,974 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 52.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 30,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,907,000 after buying an additional 10,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 8.9% during the second quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 289,016 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,295,000 after buying an additional 23,557 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

About Nasdaq

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.