Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Intercontinental Exchange Call Options (NYSE:ICE)

Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 51,408 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,427% compared to the average daily volume of 3,366 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intercontinental Exchange

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 4,574 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.77, for a total value of $739,935.98. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 43,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,966,625.05. The trade was a 9.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas Foley sold 7,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.88, for a total transaction of $1,086,824.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,838,099.44. This represents a 27.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 41,179 shares of company stock worth $6,473,715. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Intercontinental Exchange

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 191,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,041,000 after purchasing an additional 10,742 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange during the 2nd quarter worth about $6,245,085,000. USS Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 37.2% during the 1st quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 946,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $148,960,000 after buying an additional 256,851 shares during the last quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. now owns 124,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,244,000 after buying an additional 15,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 1st quarter valued at about $11,498,000. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of ICE stock opened at $153.99 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. Intercontinental Exchange has a 12-month low of $121.79 and a 12-month high of $176.05. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $152.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $151.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.06. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 14.95% and a net margin of 30.08%.The company had revenue of $3.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange will post 8.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $177.00 price target (up from $159.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $218.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $178.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $187.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $184.17.

About Intercontinental Exchange

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc (NYSE: ICE) operates global exchanges, clearinghouses, data services and technology platforms. The company provides marketplaces for trading and clearing a range of financial and commodity products, including energy, agricultural commodities, interest rates, credit and equities.

ICE owns and operates the New York Stock Exchange and related equity markets, as well as futures and options exchanges in North America and Europe. Its businesses also include ICE Data Services, which provides market data, analytics, connectivity and other information services to financial institutions and corporations.

Through ICE Mortgage Technology, the company offers software and digital platforms designed to support residential mortgage origination, processing, servicing and related workflows.