Bank of America Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Stock

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Bank of America from $103.00 to $105.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 34.67% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on NDAQ. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays cut their price target on Nasdaq from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group raised their target price on Nasdaq from $79.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.94.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NDAQ traded up $1.93 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $77.97. The stock had a trading volume of 1,242,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,751,029. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $44.84 billion, a PE ratio of 40.61, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96. Nasdaq has a fifty-two week low of $58.10 and a fifty-two week high of $84.15. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.68.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.82%. On average, equities analysts expect that Nasdaq will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total value of $285,460.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,532,778.56. The trade was a 5.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total value of $1,102,179.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 59,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,398,253.92. This trade represents a 20.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 24.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 977,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $71,400,000 after buying an additional 191,705 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $557,000. Harmony Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $203,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Nasdaq by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 58,929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,302,000 after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario raised its stake in Nasdaq by 60.4% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 14,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 5,400 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

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.