Welch & Forbes LLC Increases Position in Equinix, Inc. $EQIX

Welch & Forbes LLC raised its stake in shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,944 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Equinix were worth $19,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EQIX. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Equinix by 190.9% in the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 32 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in shares of Equinix during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Equinix by 70.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 34 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Abound Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Equinix by 209.1% in the third quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 34 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in Equinix during the second quarter worth $28,000. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equinix Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of EQIX opened at $820.93 on Friday. Equinix, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $701.41 and a fifty-two week high of $953.41. The company has a market capitalization of $80.61 billion, a PE ratio of 75.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $769.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $784.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $9.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.27 by $0.56. Equinix had a return on equity of 7.70% and a net margin of 11.82%.The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.33 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.05 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Equinix

In related news, insider Jonathan Lin sold 888 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $801.78, for a total value of $711,980.64. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,528,714.20. This trade represents a 8.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael Shane Paladin sold 327 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $804.36, for a total transaction of $263,025.72. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $765,750.72. This trade represents a 25.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 19,590 shares of company stock worth $15,366,046. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on EQIX. Zacks Research downgraded Equinix from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Equinix in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. HSBC set a $1,050.00 target price on shares of Equinix and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Equinix in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets set a $917.00 price target on Equinix and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equinix has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $959.64.

Equinix Profile

Equinix, Inc is a global provider of digital infrastructure and interconnection services, specializing in carrier-neutral data centers and colocation. The company operates a platform that enables enterprises, cloud and network service providers, and content companies to colocate IT infrastructure, interconnect directly with partners and providers, and access cloud on-ramps and network services in a secure, low-latency environment.

Equinix’s offerings include traditional colocation space and power, cross-connects and meet-me rooms, and a suite of connectivity and on-demand services designed for hybrid multicloud architectures.