Barclays Lowers MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Price Target to $215.00

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) had its price objective lowered by equities research analysts at Barclays from $225.00 to $215.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 0.50% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on MKTX. Bank of America assumed coverage on MarketAxess in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $199.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded MarketAxess from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group dropped their price target on MarketAxess from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on MarketAxess from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on MarketAxess from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $247.73.

MarketAxess Price Performance

NASDAQ MKTX opened at $213.93 on Wednesday. MarketAxess has a 1-year low of $192.42 and a 1-year high of $297.97. The company has a market capitalization of $8.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.41, a PEG ratio of 5.16 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $203.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $222.93.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $210.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.99 million. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.82% and a net margin of 33.83%. MarketAxess’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that MarketAxess will post 7.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at MarketAxess

In related news, Director Stephen P. Casper sold 500 shares of MarketAxess stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.48, for a total value of $99,740.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,201 shares in the company, valued at $2,034,895.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in MarketAxess by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,539,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $995,272,000 after purchasing an additional 13,018 shares during the period. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd raised its position in MarketAxess by 30.3% in the first quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 2,425,897 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $531,878,000 after purchasing an additional 564,820 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in MarketAxess by 21.2% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,657,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $363,508,000 after purchasing an additional 290,347 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its position in MarketAxess by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 1,122,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $328,742,000 after purchasing an additional 4,340 shares during the period. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP raised its position in MarketAxess by 40.0% in the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 716,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,134,000 after purchasing an additional 204,660 shares during the period. 99.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.