Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at BTIG Research

BTIG Research upgraded shares of Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Friday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on EQIX. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Equinix from $1,075.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Equinix from $1,173.00 to $1,186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,200.00 price target on shares of Equinix in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Equinix from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Equinix from $1,123.00 to $1,143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equinix presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,155.64.

Equinix Stock Up 1.6%

Equinix stock traded up $16.34 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $1,051.21. The stock had a trading volume of 330,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 635,703. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The company has a market cap of $103.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.75, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.98. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $1,066.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $967.61. Equinix has a 52 week low of $720.62 and a 52 week high of $1,128.68.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $10.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.30 by $6.49. Equinix had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 10.03%. The company had revenue of $2.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.67 earnings per share. Equinix’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equinix has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.310-43.110 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Equinix will post 38.26 EPS for the current year.

Equinix Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $5.16 per share. This represents a $20.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. Equinix’s dividend payout ratio is 142.84%.

Insider Transactions at Equinix

In related news, EVP Raouf Abdel sold 2,040 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,083.47, for a total transaction of $2,210,278.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,728 shares in the company, valued at $6,206,116.16. This trade represents a 26.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Charles J. Meyers sold 5,224 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,085.23, for a total transaction of $5,669,241.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 7,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,998,145.10. This trade represents a 41.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 11,115 shares of company stock worth $12,022,574 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equinix

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Equinix during the fourth quarter worth approximately $984,355,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Equinix by 408.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,186,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $929,312,000 after purchasing an additional 953,001 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Equinix by 377,167.4% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 716,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $549,190,000 after acquiring an additional 716,618 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equinix by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 2,609,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,998,978,000 after purchasing an additional 493,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Equinix by 30.0% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,094,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $838,798,000 after buying an additional 252,964 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Equinix

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.