StockNews.com Lowers Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) to Sell

StockNews.com cut shares of Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $152.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price objective for the company from $143.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Citigroup lifted their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Argus restated a buy rating and set a $153.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a buy rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $154.93.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ICE opened at $160.01 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $91.78 billion, a PE ratio of 36.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $139.37. Intercontinental Exchange has a 1-year low of $104.49 and a 1-year high of $160.25.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.03. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 12.70%. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 22.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange will post 6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.60, for a total transaction of $148,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,636 shares in the company, valued at $2,174,909.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 1,898 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.66, for a total transaction of $259,380.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 46,815 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,397,737.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.60, for a total transaction of $148,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 14,636 shares in the company, valued at $2,174,909.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 64,992 shares of company stock worth $9,197,801. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ICE. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,397,991 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,105,994,000 after acquiring an additional 4,251,371 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 25,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,991 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP lifted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 66,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,515,000 after purchasing an additional 6,500 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd grew its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,487,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $204,495,000 after buying an additional 6,272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LGT Group Foundation increased its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 36.0% in the 4th quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 355,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,724,000 after buying an additional 94,039 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

About Intercontinental Exchange

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of market infrastructure, data services, and technology solutions for financial institutions, corporations, and government entities in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Singapore, India, Abu Dhabi, Israel, and Canada.