Financial Sector Performance: The S&P 500 financials sector has risen approximately +14% year to date in 2025, ranking as the fourth-best performing sector in the index.
Top Performing Stocks: Nasdaq leads the financial exchanges and data stocks with a YTD performance of +26.06%, followed by CME Group and Intercontinental Exchange, while Morningstar has the lowest performance at -35.63%.
Quant Ratings: Most of the top-performing companies in the financial sector have a "Hold" rating, while Morningstar, MarketAxess, and Tradeweb Markets received "Sell" ratings.
ETFs and Other Highlights: Various financial ETFs are mentioned, and Robinhood and Invesco are noted as the top-performing brokerage and asset management stocks, respectively, year to date.
Wall Street analysts forecast NDAQ stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for NDAQ is 105.89 USD with a low forecast of 96.00 USD and a high forecast of 115.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
11 Analyst Rating
Wall Street analysts forecast NDAQ stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for NDAQ is 105.89 USD with a low forecast of 96.00 USD and a high forecast of 115.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
10 Buy
1 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 98.780
Low
96.00
Averages
105.89
High
115.00
Current: 98.780
Low
96.00
Averages
105.89
High
115.00
Barclays
Overweight
maintain
$114 -> $115
2026-01-08
Reason
Barclays
Price Target
$114 -> $115
AI Analysis
2026-01-08
maintain
Overweight
Reason
Barclays raised the firm's price target on Nasdaq to $115 from $114 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm updated targets in the brokers, asset managers and exchanges group ahead of the Q4 reports. Total volumes across equities, options, and futures "rose nicely" quarter-over-quarter and volatility picked up sequentially, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
Morgan Stanley
Overweight
maintain
$110 -> $111
2025-12-22
Reason
Morgan Stanley
Price Target
$110 -> $111
2025-12-22
maintain
Overweight
Reason
Morgan Stanley raised the firm's price target on Nasdaq to $111 from $110 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. Healthy transactional activity across brokers and exchanges in Q4 drives modest positive revision risk, notes the analyst in a preview. The analyst is raising Q4 EPS estimates by 5% on average, leaving the firm in-line with consensus, the analyst noted.
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Barclays
Overweight
maintain
$109 -> $114
2025-12-12
Reason
Barclays
Price Target
$109 -> $114
2025-12-12
maintain
Overweight
Reason
Barclays raised the firm's price target on Nasdaq to $114 from $109 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm adjusted targets in the brokers, asset managers and exchanges group as part of its 2026. Market conditions "look constructive" going into 2026, particularly for the alternative asset managers and wealth brokers, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Barclays sees a more mixed outlook for the exchanges and traditional asset managers.
BofA
Buy
maintain
$111 -> $114
2025-12-10
Reason
BofA
Price Target
$111 -> $114
2025-12-10
maintain
Buy
Reason
BofA raised the firm's price target on Nasdaq to $114 from $111 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Looking ahead to 2026, the firm now favors the alternative asset managers to online brokers due to what it sees as a better valuation and positioning setup combined with a stronger macro backdrop, the analyst tells investors in a note on the brokers, asset managers and exchanges group.
About NDAQ
Nasdaq, Inc. is a global technology company serving corporate clients, investment managers, banks, brokers, and exchange operators as they navigate and interact with the global capital markets and the broader financial system. The Company manages, operates and provides its products and services in three business segments: Capital Access Platforms, Financial Technology and Market Services. Its Capital Access Platforms segment comprises Data & Listing Services, Index and Workflow & Insights. The Financial Technology segment comprises Financial Crime Management Technology, Regulatory Technology and Capital Markets Technology businesses. Its Market Services segment includes its equity derivative trading and clearing, cash equity trading, fixed income, currency and commodities trading. It operates over 19 exchanges across several asset classes, including derivatives, commodities, cash equity, debt, structured products and exchange-traded products (ETPs).
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
