NICE (NASDAQ:NICE) Sets New 52-Week Low After Earnings Miss

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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on NICE. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $200.00 target price (down from $215.00) on shares of NICE in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Northland Securities lowered their price objective on shares of NICE from $275.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on NICE in a report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $176.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on NICE from $315.00 to $279.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price objective on NICE from $300.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $250.27.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its position in NICE by 56.9% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 160 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc lifted its stake in shares of NICE by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 635 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in NICE by 43.8% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 220 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its stake in NICE by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 1,428 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berry Wealth Group LP increased its holdings in NICE by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Berry Wealth Group LP now owns 1,616 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 63.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NICE Trading Down 17.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $9.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $171.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.14.

About NICE

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.