Short Interest in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Expands By 27.9%

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 8,256,507 shares, a growth of 27.9% from the November 30th total of 6,457,376 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,963,880 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,963,880 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $111.00 target price (up previously from $110.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.40.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $97.13 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.07. Nasdaq has a fifty-two week low of $64.84 and a fifty-two week high of $99.59. The company has a market capitalization of $55.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 19.90%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. Analysts expect that Nasdaq will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.57%.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.40, for a total transaction of $179,767.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 84,974 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,779.60. This represents a 2.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nasdaq

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NDAQ. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 33.5% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,274,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,438,897,000 after buying an additional 6,840,735 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Nasdaq in the second quarter worth about $406,823,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Nasdaq by 6.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,648,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,275,902,000 after purchasing an additional 3,848,406 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 261.7% during the 2nd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 2,690,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $240,556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,946,479 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 4,365.0% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,641,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $146,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604,368 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Nasdaq

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.