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

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Monday.

MKTX has been the subject of a number of other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on MarketAxess from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Bank of America initiated coverage on MarketAxess in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $199.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their target price on MarketAxess from $230.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. UBS Group cut their target price on MarketAxess from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $248.64.

MarketAxess Stock Performance

MKTX traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $204.40. 284,696 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 432,898. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $203.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $223.70. The company has a market cap of $7.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.13 and a beta of 1.03. MarketAxess has a one year low of $192.42 and a one year high of $297.97.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.07. The firm 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MarketAxess will post 7.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MarketAxess

In other MarketAxess news, Director Stephen P. Casper sold 500 shares of the business’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 sale, the director now owns 10,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,034,895.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MKTX. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Gladius Capital Management LP increased its holdings 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings 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 worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. 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.