NICE (NASDAQ:NICE) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

NICE Ltd. (NASDAQ:NICE - Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $199.17, but opened at $181.32. NICE shares last traded at $171.40, with a volume of 527,122 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of NICE in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of NICE in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of NICE in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of NICE in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Northland Securities decreased their target price on shares of NICE from $305.00 to $275.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $268.79.

NICE Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $11.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.42, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $172.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a current ratio of 2.45.

NICE (NASDAQ:NICE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The technology company reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.58 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $664.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $664.10 million. NICE had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 15.55%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that NICE Ltd. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of NICE by 208.3% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 148 shares of the technology company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in NICE by 135.4% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 186 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in NICE in the third quarter worth about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of NICE by 89.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 245 shares of the technology company's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NICE during the second quarter valued at approximately $72,000. 63.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.