Bank of America Issues Positive Forecast for Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Stock Price

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by equities research analysts at Bank of America from $103.00 to $105.00 in a research report issued to clients and 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 would suggest a potential upside of 55.00% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on NDAQ. UBS Group raised their target price on Nasdaq from $79.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Nasdaq from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Five 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 a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.44.

Nasdaq Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ traded down $0.51 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $67.74. 6,065,742 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,792,113. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $78.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.69. Nasdaq has a fifty-two week low of $58.10 and a fifty-two week high of $84.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $38.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.02.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Nasdaq will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total transaction of $1,102,179.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,694 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,398,253.92. This trade represents a 20.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 657 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.81, for a total transaction of $47,179.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,980 shares in the company, valued at $4,450,783.80. This represents a 1.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,116 shares of company stock valued at $1,434,818 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Founders Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Nasdaq by 106.6% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.