Raymond James Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Stock

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by equities research analysts at Raymond James from $83.00 to $84.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Raymond James' target price would suggest a potential upside of 7.66% from the company's current price.

Several other research firms also recently commented on NDAQ. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Nasdaq from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $88.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $84.20.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ traded up $1.66 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $78.02. 3,600,358 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,919,041. Nasdaq has a one year low of $54.90 and a one year high of $83.77. The stock has a market cap of $44.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.72, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $79.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.60.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.05. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.56% and a net margin of 13.67%. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nasdaq will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,642 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.32, for a total transaction of $1,027,515.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 142,830 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,757,955.60. The trade was a 8.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.71, for a total transaction of $454,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 215,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,320,274.73. The trade was a 2.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,459 shares of company stock worth $3,811,808. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nasdaq

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 3.6% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,975 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Financial lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 13,842 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,011,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,670 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems grew its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 0.5% in the third quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 28,828 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,105,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 2.5% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,584 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.