MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) Receives $253.30 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $253.30.

MKTX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on MarketAxess from $204.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on MarketAxess from $193.00 to $185.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $237.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $262.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th.

MarketAxess Price Performance

NASDAQ:MKTX opened at $279.15 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.91, a current ratio of 2.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. MarketAxess has a 52 week low of $192.42 and a 52 week high of $297.97. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $268.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $232.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.54 billion, a PE ratio of 40.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.03 and a beta of 1.05.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.04. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.43% and a net margin of 33.71%. The company had revenue of $197.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $198.07 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. MarketAxess’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that MarketAxess will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 6th that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 2.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christophe Pierre Danie Roupie sold 617 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.63, for a total value of $142,915.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,716,146.67. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKTX. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of MarketAxess during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in MarketAxess by 2,428.6% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in MarketAxess by 405.1% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 47.4% during the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of MarketAxess in the 3rd quarter valued at $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.01% of the company’s stock.

About MarketAxess

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.