Royal Bank of Canada Initiates Coverage on Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE)

Research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set an "outperform" rating and a $200.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock. Royal Bank of Canada's target price would indicate a potential upside of 26.07% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $143.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $152.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com lowered Intercontinental Exchange from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Barclays raised their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $159.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Thursday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $182.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $162.47.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Up 0.3 %

Intercontinental Exchange stock traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $158.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,329,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,499,804. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.08 billion, a PE ratio of 36.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.08. Intercontinental Exchange has a 1 year low of $104.49 and a 1 year high of $163.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock's fifty day moving average is $156.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.31.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.03. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 21.43%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 22.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange will post 6.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intercontinental Exchange

In other news, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 750 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.43, for a total transaction of $121,072.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,576 shares in the company, valued at $2,675,863.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 1,000 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.60, for a total transaction of $148,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,636 shares in the company, valued at $2,174,909.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.43, for a total value of $121,072.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,675,863.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,268 shares of company stock worth $9,508,809 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intercontinental Exchange

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,397,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,105,994,000 after buying an additional 4,251,371 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP boosted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 66,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,515,000 after purchasing an additional 6,500 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd boosted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,487,993 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $204,495,000 after purchasing an additional 6,272 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 819.7% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 137,074 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $18,764,000 after purchasing an additional 122,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 317,544 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,617,000 after purchasing an additional 20,802 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Company Profile

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of market infrastructure, data services, and technology solutions for financial institutions, corporations, and government entities in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Singapore, India, Abu Dhabi, Israel, and Canada.