Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 6,600,984 shares, a decrease of 17.0% from the February 12th total of 7,948,974 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,567,497 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,567,497 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ traded up $0.32 during trading on Monday, hitting $85.85. The company had a trading volume of 2,301,129 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,795,300. Nasdaq has a 52 week low of $64.84 and a 52 week high of $101.79. The business’s 50-day moving average is $90.63 and its 200 day moving average is $90.69. The company has a market cap of $48.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.78, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 16.90% and a net margin of 21.77%.The company’s revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Nasdaq will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.91, for a total value of $29,073,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,924,903 shares in the company, valued at $186,542,349.73. This trade represents a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total transaction of $450,045.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 125,674 shares in the company, valued at $12,568,656.74. This represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 697,340 shares of company stock worth $66,803,072. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nasdaq

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NDAQ. Front Row Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Nasdaq in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Nasdaq by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Company Profile

Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology company that operates one of the world’s leading electronic securities exchanges and provides a broad array of products and services to capital markets participants. Its core activities include operating the Nasdaq Stock Market and other trading venues, developing and supplying market technology and matching engines to exchanges and trading firms, licensing market data and indices, and offering clearing, trade execution and post-trade solutions. The company also provides market surveillance, risk management and regulatory technology used by exchanges and regulators.

Founded in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) as the first electronic stock market, Nasdaq has evolved into a diversified marketplace and technology provider.