StockNews.com Downgrades Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) to Sell

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Nasdaq from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.87.

Nasdaq Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $80.08 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $46.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.95. Nasdaq has a 12 month low of $53.62 and a 12 month high of $81.08. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $74.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.82.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.05. Nasdaq had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 14.56%. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. Nasdaq’s revenue was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Nasdaq will post 2.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 5,742 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.34, for a total value of $444,086.28. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 205,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,918,196.14. This represents a 2.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 12,075 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.75, for a total transaction of $950,906.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 102,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,072,268.75. The trade was a 10.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 49,459 shares of company stock worth $3,811,808. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in Nasdaq by 3.6% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $290,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Financial grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 1.0% in the third quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 13,842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,011,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 4.2% in the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems increased its position in Nasdaq by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 28,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Nasdaq by 2.5% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. 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.