UBS Group Lowers MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Price Target to $285.00

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) had its price target lowered by research analysts at UBS Group from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 41.44% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on MKTX. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $263.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $229.00 to $210.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $239.00 to $236.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $250.00 to $237.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $250.73.

MarketAxess Stock Performance

MKTX traded up $0.61 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $201.50. 26,643 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 419,266. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $213.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $234.96. The firm has a market cap of $7.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 0.98. MarketAxess has a 1 year low of $198.01 and a 1 year high of $303.85.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 34.29% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that MarketAxess will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CRO Kevin M. Mcpherson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.26, for a total transaction of $442,520.00. Following the sale, the executive now directly owns 70,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,508,555.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MarketAxess

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKTX. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of MarketAxess by 347.6% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of MarketAxess by 155.8% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of MarketAxess by 39.6% in the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its position in shares of MarketAxess by 47.3% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of MarketAxess by 1,030.8% in the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. 99.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.