Citi reiterates Neutral rating on Nasdaq stock after solid Q2 earnings

Published 24/07/2025, 14:10
Citi reiterates Neutral rating on Nasdaq stock after solid Q2 earnings

Investing.com - Citi maintained its Neutral rating and $95.00 price target on Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) following the company’s second-quarter 2025 earnings report. The stock, currently trading near its 52-week high of $90.83, has delivered a strong year-to-date return of 14.93%.

Nasdaq reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.85 for the second quarter, exceeding both Citi’s estimate of $0.83 and the FactSet consensus of $0.81. The company posted net revenue of $1.31 billion, surpassing Citi’s expectation of $1.29 billion. According to InvestingPro data, the company maintains a GOOD financial health score, though it’s currently trading at a relatively high P/E ratio of 40x.

The revenue outperformance was driven by stronger-than-expected results in Capital Markets Technology, which generated $279 million versus an estimated $265 million, and Data & Listing revenue of $198 million compared to the projected $192 million. These gains offset lower-than-anticipated index revenue, which came in at $196 million against an estimate of $202 million.

Adjusted operating expenses were higher than expected at $585 million, compared to Citi’s estimate of $574 million, which the company attributed to foreign exchange impacts. As a result, Nasdaq adjusted its full-year 2025 operating expense guidance to $2.295-2.335 billion.

The company repurchased $100 million of shares during the second quarter, exceeding Citi’s estimate of $40 million. Citi noted positive annual recurring revenue trends across Nasdaq’s business segments.

In other recent news, Nasdaq reported a 12% year-over-year organic revenue growth for the second quarter, showing an acceleration from the previous quarter. The company’s Solutions businesses contributed to this modestly faster growth. Raymond (NSE:RYMD) James maintained its Outperform rating for Nasdaq, with a price target of $96, following these strong results. Piper Sandler also raised its price target for Nasdaq to $97, citing a positive growth outlook and reduced sensitivity to trading volumes. Meanwhile, Jefferies increased its price target to $86, maintaining a Hold rating, and revised its earnings per share estimate to $0.81 due to stronger market services revenue projections. In addition, Nasdaq’s Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, payable on September 26, 2025. The company also addressed a preliminary proxy filing by Invesco QQQ Trust, confirming that proposed structural changes would not affect its licensing arrangements with Invesco or the administration of the Nasdaq-100 Index.

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