CME Group’s (CME) “Hold” Rating Reaffirmed at Argus

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Argus in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $305.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on CME Group from $296.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on CME Group from $262.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on CME Group from $319.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on CME Group from $304.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.71.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $325.13 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market cap of $117.24 billion, a PE ratio of 29.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.24. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $289.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $276.71. CME Group has a 52 week low of $248.53 and a 52 week high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 62.45%.CME Group’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.52 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that CME Group will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total value of $6,738,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,737,468.20. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total transaction of $91,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 24,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,647,194.10. This trade represents a 1.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 30,248 shares of company stock valued at $8,355,450 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CME. Caldwell Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 116.3% during the third quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new stake in CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies raised its price target to $356 and kept a Buy rating, providing a near-term catalyst and analyst validation for upside. Jefferies Boosts CME Group Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Following the upgrade, CME has hit a new 1‑year high — momentum that often draws investor interest and supports valuation multiples for exchange operators. CME Hits New 1-Year High
• Positive Sentiment: Operational metrics: CME reported a record monthly ADV of 37.6M contracts in February (up 14% YoY), highlighting strength in trading activity and fee revenue. Higher ADV supports revenue visibility even in a flat-rate environment. CME Sets New Monthly ADV Record
• Positive Sentiment: Product-level strength: Dairy futures/options hit new open interest and volume records, signaling healthy demand across non-financial contracts and diversification of trading revenues. Dairy Futures Open Interest Record
• Neutral Sentiment: CME FedWatch shows markets now see a higher probability the Fed will pause — a macro input that affects interest-rate derivatives volumes and positioning but is not a direct revenue read. Fed More Likely To Stay Pat
• Neutral Sentiment: CME presented at the Raymond James conference (prepared remarks released) — useful for visibility but typically only a modest near-term mover. CME Presentation Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Crypto-market catalysts are mixed: technicals point to possible BTC upside toward $80k (could lift crypto futures volumes), but this is speculative and timing-dependent. Three Bitcoin Signals Show $80K Target
• Negative Sentiment: CME has rebuffed traders seeking compensation after a technical outage that affected settlement pricing — potential reputational/legal overhang that could worry some institutional clients and create regulatory scrutiny. CME Rebuffs Traders on Outage Compensation
• Negative Sentiment: Crypto derivatives caution: separate data show Bitcoin futures demand has fallen to 2024 lows, which could pressure crypto-related trading revenue if the trend persists. Bitcoin Futures Demand Falls to 2024 Lows

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.