CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:
Our reduced opinion reflects rising competition. Previously, we expected CBOE's valuation multiple to continue to expand alongside its strong earnings and revenue growth. However, the CFTC's approval of Bitcoin perpetual futures at Kalshi is likely to pressure valuations for traditional exchange operators as investors fear more approvals are in the pipeline. If regulators extend approval to other asset classes and trading products, traditional exchanges could lose significant market share, especially in retail trading. We believe CBOE faces the greatest risk given its significant, fast-growing retail businesses. CME Group (CME 249 ****), Nasdaq (NDAQ 88 *****), and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE 141 ****) are also likely to face pressure, though less severely due to their stronger institutional focus. We lower our 12-month target price by $85 to $365, based on a forward P/E of 26.6x our 2027 estimate, a premium to the peer average of 19.6x, given less vulnerability to AI disruption and efficiency improvements.