Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Downgraded to "Equal Weight" Rating by Morgan Stanley

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $74.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price suggests a potential upside of 3.45% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on NDAQ. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group increased their price target 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 lifted their price objective on Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.63.

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Nasdaq Price Performance

NDAQ stock traded up $1.23 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $71.53. The stock had a trading volume of 4,136,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,842,130. The company's 50-day moving average price is $76.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.42. Nasdaq has a twelve month low of $58.10 and a twelve month high of $84.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.26, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 15.10%. As a group, research analysts predict that Nasdaq will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 657 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total transaction of $1,102,179.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,694 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,398,253.92. This represents a 20.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,116 shares of company stock worth $1,434,818 in the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Founders Capital Management purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Nasdaq by 106.6% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Company Profile

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.