StockNews.com Lowers MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) to Sell

StockNews.com cut shares of MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Monday morning.

MKTX has been the subject of a number of other reports. Bank of America began coverage on shares of MarketAxess in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an underperform rating and a $199.00 price target for the company. UBS Group reduced their price target on MarketAxess from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on MarketAxess from $230.00 to $225.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on MarketAxess from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $236.00 to $225.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $247.73.

MarketAxess Stock Up 3.4 %

Shares of MKTX stock opened at $213.93 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $8.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.41, a PEG ratio of 5.16 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $203.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $222.93. MarketAxess has a 52 week low of $192.42 and a 52 week high of $297.97.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $210.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.99 million. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.82% and a net margin of 33.83%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that MarketAxess will post 7.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 21st. MarketAxess’s payout ratio is 43.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen P. Casper sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.48, for a total value of $99,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 is available at this hyperlink. 2.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of MarketAxess

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Gladius Capital Management LP lifted its position in MarketAxess by 39.6% during the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in shares of MarketAxess by 47.3% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT lifted its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 2,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,060,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its stake in MarketAxess by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 5,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,126,000 after buying an additional 52 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.