MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Given New $225.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) had its price objective lifted by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $222.00 to $225.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price suggests a potential downside of 3.59% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of MarketAxess in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $199.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of MarketAxess in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut shares of MarketAxess from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MarketAxess presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $240.50.

MarketAxess Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of MarketAxess stock traded down $1.20 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $233.38. 76,796 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 423,996. MarketAxess has a fifty-two week low of $192.42 and a fifty-two week high of $297.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.04, a P/E/G ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $207.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $215.11.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $197.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $198.07 million. MarketAxess had a net margin of 33.83% and a return on equity of 20.82%. MarketAxess’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. Analysts predict that MarketAxess will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

MarketAxess announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 6th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 2.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen P. Casper sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.48, for a total transaction of $99,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,034,895.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MarketAxess

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 164,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,913,000 after purchasing an additional 2,485 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of MarketAxess by 263.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 1,413 shares during the last quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC bought a new position in MarketAxess in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,914,000. Custom Index Systems LLC bought a new position in MarketAxess in the 2nd quarter worth about $447,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in MarketAxess in the 2nd quarter worth about $236,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.01% of the company’s stock.

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.