Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

NDAQ has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Argus upped their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Raymond James upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, William Blair began coverage on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, November 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Nasdaq presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.87.

Nasdaq Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $81.14 on Friday. Nasdaq has a 52 week low of $53.62 and a 52 week high of $83.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $76.82 and a 200 day moving average of $69.53. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $46.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.59, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.97.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. Nasdaq’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nasdaq will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.71, for a total transaction of $454,260.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 215,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,320,274.73. This trade represents a 2.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,642 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.32, for a total transaction of $1,027,515.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 142,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,757,955.60. The trade was a 8.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,459 shares of company stock worth $3,811,808. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 3.6% in 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 lifted 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 buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted 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 worth $268,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 0.5% in the third quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 28,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,105,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 2.5% in 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 in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.