Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on EQIX. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Equinix from $933.00 to $985.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $1,075.00 price objective on shares of Equinix in a research report on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Equinix from $925.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays raised their target price on Equinix from $870.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Equinix in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equinix currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,015.05.

Equinix Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of EQIX stock opened at $964.05 on Friday. Equinix has a 12 month low of $701.41 and a 12 month high of $992.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market cap of $94.72 billion, a PE ratio of 70.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $910.75 and a 200-day moving average of $828.83.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $8.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.07 by ($0.16). Equinix had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 14.65%.The company had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.92 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Equinix will post 33.1 EPS for the current year.

Equinix Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were issued a $5.16 dividend. This represents a $20.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This is a boost from Equinix’s previous quarterly dividend of $4.69. Equinix’s payout ratio is currently 150.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Brandi Galvin Morandi sold 630 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $961.19, for a total transaction of $605,549.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,990,608.86. This trade represents a 5.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Raouf Abdel sold 584 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $965.69, for a total transaction of $563,962.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 7,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,501,479.92. The trade was a 6.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 16,842 shares of company stock worth $14,494,840 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Equinix

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Equinix by 433.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 32 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Equinix by 209.1% in the 3rd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 34 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equinix in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Equinix by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 42 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Equinix by 51.7% during the fourth quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 44 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equinix Company 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.