IRON Financial LLC Purchases New Position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

IRON Financial LLC purchased a new position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in MarketAxess by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,539,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $995,272,000 after buying an additional 13,018 shares during the period. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 564,820 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 10.3% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,828,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $366,580,000 after acquiring an additional 170,095 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 18.2% in the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 1,330,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $266,881,000 after acquiring an additional 204,960 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 53.5% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 820,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $164,447,000 after purchasing an additional 285,665 shares during the period. 99.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MarketAxess Price Performance

Shares of MKTX stock traded down $4.42 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $289.19. 85,185 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 405,554. The company has a quick ratio of 2.91, a current ratio of 2.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $10.92 billion, a PE ratio of 41.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $264.54 and a 200 day moving average of $229.70. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $192.42 and a 52-week high of $297.97.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 33.71% and a return on equity of 20.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

MarketAxess declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 6th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits 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 leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Christophe Pierre Danie Roupie sold 617 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.63, for a total value of $142,915.71. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,716,146.67. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MKTX. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on MarketAxess from $262.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com raised MarketAxess from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup lifted their target price on MarketAxess from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $204.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.30.

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.