Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

Several other analysts have also commented on ICE. Bank of America raised their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $182.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James lowered shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, October 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Intercontinental Exchange presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.07.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

ICE traded down $0.09 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $146.35. 3,719,009 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,749,342. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Intercontinental Exchange has a 1 year low of $124.34 and a 1 year high of $167.99. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $154.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.10.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.55. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 21.31% and a return on equity of 12.75%. The firm had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.08, for a total transaction of $149,056.40. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 44,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,977,088.16. The trade was a 2.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Benjamin Jackson sold 5,828 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $932,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 156,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,986,080. The trade was a 3.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,533 shares of company stock worth $1,196,279. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Intercontinental Exchange

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 46,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,500,000 after acquiring an additional 11,648 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 310,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,888,000 after purchasing an additional 4,973 shares during the last quarter. GDS Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 103,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,612,000 after buying an additional 5,226 shares during the period. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $14,880,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 169,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,192,000 after buying an additional 10,399 shares during the period. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Intercontinental Exchange Company Profile

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.