MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Price Target Cut to $225.00

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) had its target price decreased by stock analysts at Piper Sandler from $230.00 to $225.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target points to a potential upside of 11.93% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also commented on MKTX. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group dropped their price target on MarketAxess from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Barclays reduced their price target on MarketAxess from $236.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of MarketAxess in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $199.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $248.64.

MarketAxess Price Performance

Shares of MarketAxess stock traded up $7.21 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $201.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 331,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 434,906. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $203.29 and a 200 day moving average of $225.93. The company has a market capitalization of $7.62 billion, a PE ratio of 29.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 1.03. MarketAxess has a 12 month low of $192.42 and a 12 month high of $297.97.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.07. MarketAxess had a net margin of 33.83% and a return on equity of 20.82%. The firm had revenue of $210.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $212.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that MarketAxess will post 7.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MarketAxess

In related news, Director Stephen P. Casper sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.48, for a total transaction of $99,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,034,895.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MarketAxess

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd boosted its stake in MarketAxess by 30.3% during the first quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 2,425,897 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $531,878,000 after buying an additional 564,820 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of MarketAxess during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $128,535,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,657,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $363,508,000 after buying an additional 290,347 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 40.0% in the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 716,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,134,000 after purchasing an additional 204,660 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 7,385.0% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 159,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,733,000 after purchasing an additional 157,448 shares during the last quarter. 99.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MarketAxess Company Profile

MarketAxess Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates an electronic trading platform for institutional investor and broker-dealer companies worldwide. The company offers trading technology that provides liquidity access in U.S. high-grade bonds, U.S. high-yield bonds, emerging market debt, eurobonds, municipal bonds, U.S.