NICE (NASDAQ:NICE) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

NICE Ltd. (NASDAQ:NICE)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $179.09, but opened at $194.82. NICE shares last traded at $191.25, with a volume of 268,425 shares changing hands.

The technology company reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $601.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $595.00 million. NICE had a net margin of 13.48% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NICE. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on NICE from $250.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of NICE from $278.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 15th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $343.00 price target on shares of NICE in a research report on Monday, October 9th. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of NICE in a research note on Thursday, September 28th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of NICE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $249.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NICE. Phoenix Holdings Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of NICE by 193.7% during the third quarter. Phoenix Holdings Ltd. now owns 1,265,707 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $215,170,000 after acquiring an additional 834,819 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in NICE by 122.3% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 758,585 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $156,610,000 after purchasing an additional 417,277 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its position in NICE by 44,660.0% during the 3rd quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 388,069 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $65,970,000 after purchasing an additional 387,202 shares during the period. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its stake in shares of NICE by 169.6% in the 3rd quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 528,838 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $89,902,000 after purchasing an additional 332,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Black Creek Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of NICE by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,144,309 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $194,533,000 after buying an additional 206,551 shares during the period. 63.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NICE Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $168.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $191.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 2.31.

NICE Company Profile

NICE Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides cloud platforms for AI-driven digital business solutions worldwide. It offers CXone, a cloud native open platform; Enlighten, an AI engine for CX that discovers automation opportunities for self-service; digital-entry points solutions that enable organizations to address consumers' needs; and journey orchestration solutions that empower organizations to connect and route customers to deal with the customer's request, and connects them using real time AI-based routing.