Nasdaq Defies 489th Volume Rank with 1.83% Surge as Analysts Raise Target to $104

Nasdaq (NDAQ) rose 1.83% on August 4, 2025, with a trading volume of $0.22 billion, ranking 489th among stocks that day. Analysts continued to express confidence in the company, with Piper Sandler raising its price target to $104 from $97, maintaining an "Overweight" rating. This follows a series of upgrades from Barclays, RBC Capital, and UBS earlier in the week, reflecting a collective 6.5% average upside potential based on 15 analyst estimates.

The stock’s performance was supported by Nasdaq’s Q2 2025 results, which showed a 10% year-over-year revenue increase to $2.1 billion. Growth in financial technology and index services drove operating income up 22% to $611 million, while net profit surged 103.6% to $452 million. The company’s expansion of AI-powered compliance tools, including the Agentic AI Workforce for anti-money laundering solutions, further reinforced its position in regulatory technology.

Analysts highlighted Nasdaq’s diversified revenue streams across capital access, financial technology, and market services. The firm’s 7.9% compound annual growth rate in revenue from FY21-FY24, coupled with a 33.7x forward P/E ratio, underscored its premium valuation relative to peers. However, risks such as regulatory pressures, competitive dynamics, and macroeconomic volatility were noted as potential headwinds.

A backtest of a strategy buying the top 500 high-volume stocks and holding for one day generated a 166.71% return from 2022 to present, outperforming the 29.18% benchmark. This highlights the impact of liquidity concentration on short-term performance in volatile markets.