NICE (NASDAQ:NICE) Hits New 52-Week Low on Disappointing Earnings

NICE Ltd. (NASDAQ:NICE) hit a new 52-week low on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as low as $150.61 and last traded at $150.49, with a volume of 1003255 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $178.50.

The technology company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.96 by ($0.71). NICE had a net margin of 16.11% and a return on equity of 15.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on NICE shares. Oppenheimer lowered shares of NICE from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $200.00 target price (down previously from $215.00) on shares of NICE in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of NICE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of NICE in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $176.00 target price for the company. Finally, Northland Securities decreased their target price on shares of NICE from $275.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, NICE presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $250.27.

Institutional Trading of NICE

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bruni J V & Co. Co. purchased a new stake in NICE during the third quarter valued at about $22,849,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in NICE by 13.5% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 47,214 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,200,000 after buying an additional 5,629 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC lifted its stake in NICE by 106.5% during the fourth quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 4,303 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $731,000 after buying an additional 2,219 shares in the last quarter. Kopion Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in NICE during the fourth quarter valued at about $7,433,000. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its stake in NICE by 1.5% during the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 517,039 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $89,794,000 after buying an additional 7,635 shares in the last quarter. 63.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NICE Stock Down 14.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $9.66 billion, a PE ratio of 23.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $170.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.01.

NICE Company Profile

NICE Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides cloud platforms for AI-driven digital business solutions worldwide. It offers CXone, a cloud native open platform; Enlighten, an AI engine for the customer engagement market; and smart self service enable organizations to address consumers' needs; and journey orchestration solutions that empower organizations to connect and route customers to deal with the customer's request, and connects them using real time AI-based routing.