Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Stock Rating Upgraded by Morgan Stanley

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a $110.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $97.00. Morgan Stanley’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 25.48% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Nasdaq from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group upgraded Nasdaq from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $95.00 to $115.00 in a report on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price objective (up from $99.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Nasdaq currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.00.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of Nasdaq stock opened at $87.66 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $50.05 billion, a PE ratio of 31.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.98. Nasdaq has a 12-month low of $64.84 and a 12-month high of $97.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $88.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.90.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 19.90% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Nasdaq will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.40, for a total transaction of $179,767.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 84,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,256,779.60. This trade represents a 2.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nasdaq

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 35.9% in the second quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 64,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,737,000 after acquiring an additional 16,950 shares during the period. 111 Capital raised its stake in Nasdaq by 67.0% during the 2nd quarter. 111 Capital now owns 11,089 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $992,000 after purchasing an additional 4,450 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq in the 1st quarter worth approximately $664,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 18.9% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 25,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,237,000 after purchasing an additional 3,976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Nasdaq in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $498,000. 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.