Just Before the Drop: Barak Eilam Sold NICE Shares Worth Millions
Shares worth $2.38 million were sold just two days before the release of disappointing earnings that revealed a sharp slowdown in growth and a bleak 2025 outlook.
Barak Eilam, former CEO of NICE NICE Ltd 1.2% , filed a report detailing the sale of 13,479 shares of the company, totaling approximately $2.38 million. The timing was sensitive—right before the publication of NICE’s disappointing earnings and a concerning forecast for 2025. Over a decade as CEO, Eilam amassed more than half a billion shekels from the company.
According to the filing, the shares Eilam sold came from two sources: 8,079 restricted stock units (RSUs) and 5,400 performance stock units (PSUs). The sale took place on February 18, 2025—just two days before the financial report was released.
The last earnings report revealed a significant slowdown in NICE’s growth rate: the company now expects only 8%-9% growth in 2025, compared to 15% in 2024. Profit growth is also set to decelerate from 27% to just 9%. These projections fall well short of analyst expectations, explaining the intense pressure on NICE’s stock, which has already lost about 20% of its value in recent weeks.
Eilam’s departure in early 2025 after a decade as CEO has raised concerns among investors about the company’s future, especially given the rising competitive threat from Microsoft in AI-driven cloud services and contact centers. Investors sensed that Eilam was “getting out just in time,” and reassurances did little to ease the anxiety. Since news of his planned exit, NICE’s stock has dropped from $240 to around $160.
During Eilam’s tenure, NICE saw different phases of growth: in his first five years, the stock surged fivefold, but in the past five years—factoring in the recent declines—it has lost about 25% of its value.
Many analysts fear that NICE has stalled and is struggling to navigate new market challenges, with Eilam’s exit only adding to the uncertainty. However, while the 2025 forecast is weak, it’s far from disastrous—the company is still projecting solid growth and profitability. At current levels, NICE trades at about 13 times 2025 earnings, making its valuation relatively attractive.
Oppenheimer analysts see NICE’s current stock price as an opportunity. Analyst Sergey Vastchenok argues that concerns over Microsoft and AI competition are overblown and that NICE is significantly undervalued compared to the broader software sector. While NICE trades at an EV/EBITDA multiple of 10-12, other companies in the industry are trading at 30-40 times EBITDA.
Israel Consumer Price Index (CPI) in January rose by 0.6%, hitting the upper end of economists' forecasts
With inflation still high, a budget that remains loose and far from approval, and rising inflation in the U.S. that could spill over into the local market, the chances of an early interest rate cut are fading. While most economists still anticipate
a rate cut in the second quarter, the immediate prospects for monetary easing are diminishing.
Housing prices continued to rise, with November-December data showing a 0.4% increase, reflecting an annual surge of nearly 8% in 2024. The Consumer Price Index for January was calculated using an updated methodology, incorporating
a new weighting system and a revised base period (2024 average = 100 points). Over the past twelve months (January 2025 vs. January 2024), the CPI increased by 3.8%.
Significant
price increases were recorded in fresh fruit (up 2.5%), miscellaneous expenses (up 3.3%), home maintenance (up 2.1%), food (up 1.0%), and rent (up 0.4%). Conversely, clothing and footwear saw a notable drop of 4.2%, fresh vegetables declined by 2.0%, and housing
services for owner-occupiers fell by 0.7%.
Rent prices showed a 2.6% increase for tenants renewing contracts, while new tenants (in units where there was a tenant turnover) saw
a 3.3% rise.
Construction Input Index Surges by 2.6% in One Month—A Statistical Distortion?
The Construction Input Price Index for residential
buildings rose by 2.6% in January 2025, reaching 137.1 points compared to 133.6 points the previous month. This sharp increase includes both price changes occurring in January and an adjustment for wage costs in the construction sector, covering the period
from October 2023 to December 2024. Essentially, for an extended period, labor costs were not properly accounted for in the index, despite contractors' repeated complaints—this time, justifiably so. As a result, these costs were suddenly reflected in the January
index, creating a data distortion that misrepresents the real cost trends in the construction sector.
- ה-CPI של אוגוסט: הקריאה השנתית תואמת לצפי, אבל הקצב החודשי מפתיע ללמעלה
- מדד המחירים הכי קריטי בשנתיים האחרונות - מה ייחשב להפתעה ומה לאכזבה?
- המלצת המערכת: כל הכותרות 24/7
Excluding labor costs, the Construction Input Price Index still rose by 1.0%.
Over the past year, it has increased by 5.3%, largely driven by a 9.2% rise in labor costs and a 3.2% increase in equipment and vehicle rentals. The price index for materials and products climbed by 1.3% in January, with sharp increases in ready-mix concrete
(up 5.2%), mortar (up 4.0%), wall and floor tiles (up 1.8%), and marble (up 1.1%). On the other hand, prices for glass (-5.5%), construction iron (-2.3%), and iron mesh (-1.3%) declined. The wage index for construction workers jumped by 4.5% in January 2025.
