Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

NDAQ has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $111.00 price objective (up from $108.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Nasdaq from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Loop Capital set a $113.00 target price on Nasdaq in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 target price on Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.73.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NDAQ stock opened at $95.96 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $53.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $87.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.37. Nasdaq has a one year low of $76.55 and a one year high of $101.79.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 22.60% and a return on equity of 18.38%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Nasdaq will post 4.13 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Ab Investor bought 56,782 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $85.98 per share, for a total transaction of $4,882,116.36. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 58,439,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,024,603,103.84. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total value of $1,203,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 128,293 shares in the company, valued at $11,881,214.73. This trade represents a 9.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 30,787 shares of company stock worth $2,865,505 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NDAQ. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Nasdaq this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Nasdaq from “Hold” to “Strong Buy,” providing a fresh bullish signal for the stock. Zacks.com
• Positive Sentiment: Nasdaq’s latest quarterly results showed strong momentum: earnings per share of $1.07 exceeded the $0.98 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $2.53 billion and increased 14.9% year over year. Coverage also highlights artificial-intelligence adoption, IPO activity, and platform expansion as growth drivers. NDAQ Q2 Deep Dive
• Positive Sentiment: The broader financial sector is benefiting from gains in fintech-related stocks, while industry analysts cite rising cryptocurrency adoption, growing recurring non-trading revenue, and technology investments as potential tailwinds for Nasdaq. Competition remains a consideration. Securities and Exchanges Stocks to Watch
• Neutral Sentiment: Nasdaq declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, equal to $1.24 annually and a yield of approximately 1.3%. The dividend supports shareholder returns but is unlikely to be the primary catalyst for the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Insiders reported multiple sales. Pc Nelson Griggs sold 17,787 shares for approximately $1.66 million across July 24 and July 27, while EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,000 shares worth about $1.20 million. Although both executives retained substantial holdings, the transactions may modestly temper investor sentiment. Nasdaq Insider Selling

Nasdaq Company Profile

Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology company that operates one of the world’s leading electronic securities exchanges and provides a broad array of products and services to capital markets participants. Its core activities include operating the Nasdaq Stock Market and other trading venues, developing and supplying market technology and matching engines to exchanges and trading firms, licensing market data and indices, and offering clearing, trade execution and post-trade solutions. The company also provides market surveillance, risk management and regulatory technology used by exchanges and regulators.

Founded in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) as the first electronic stock market, Nasdaq has evolved into a diversified marketplace and technology provider.