NiCE (NASDAQ:NICE) Raised to “Hold” at Zacks Research

NiCE (NASDAQ:NICE) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of NiCE from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of NiCE in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $148.00 price objective on NiCE in a report on Friday, February 20th. Citizens Jmp set a $200.00 target price on NiCE in a report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on NiCE from $200.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $151.83.

NiCE Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ NICE opened at $111.09 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $111.75 and its 200 day moving average is $123.75. The stock has a market cap of $7.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.96. NiCE has a 1-year low of $94.65 and a 1-year high of $180.61.

NiCE (NASDAQ:NICE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The technology company reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.23 by $0.01. NiCE had a return on equity of 18.26% and a net margin of 20.78%.The business had revenue of $786.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $779.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.02 earnings per share. NiCE’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. NiCE has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.850-11.050 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.450-2.550 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that NiCE will post 9.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiCE announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 19th that allows the company to repurchase $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to purchase up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NiCE

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiCE during the first quarter valued at approximately $226,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in NiCE by 81.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 229,813 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,430,000 after purchasing an additional 103,342 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in NiCE during the 1st quarter valued at $892,000. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in NiCE by 18.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 20,140 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,105,000 after purchasing an additional 3,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of NiCE by 39.2% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 114,467 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $19,335,000 after purchasing an additional 32,255 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.34% of the company’s stock.

About NiCE

NiCE Ltd is a global software provider specializing in solutions for customer engagement, financial crime prevention, public safety, workforce optimization and border security. Its product offerings include cloud-native and on-premises platforms that leverage advanced analytics, artificial intelligence and automation to help organizations enhance customer experiences, streamline operations and ensure regulatory compliance. NiCE’s portfolio addresses the needs of contact centers, financial institutions, government agencies and enterprises across a broad range of industries.

In customer engagement, NiCE delivers tools for omnichannel interaction management, real-time and historical analytics, workforce management, and quality management.