Bank of America Lowers MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Price Target to $185.00

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) had its target price lowered by equities research analysts at Bank of America from $193.00 to $185.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price would indicate a potential downside of 32.40% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on MKTX. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on MarketAxess from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of MarketAxess in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Barclays lowered their target price on MarketAxess from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded MarketAxess from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $240.50.

MarketAxess Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of MKTX stock opened at $273.65 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $245.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $221.36. MarketAxess has a 1-year low of $192.42 and a 1-year high of $297.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.37 billion, a PE ratio of 40.18, a P/E/G ratio of 6.04 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.91 and a quick ratio of 2.91.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $197.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $198.07 million. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.43% and a net margin of 33.71%. MarketAxess’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MarketAxess will post 7.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 6th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 2.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Christophe Pierre Danie Roupie sold 617 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.63, for a total transaction of $142,915.71. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,716,146.67. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MarketAxess

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 155.8% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of MarketAxess in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 2,428.6% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 405.1% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 47.4% in the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. 99.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.