MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Analyst Says

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) had its price target upped by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $194.00 to $198.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “market perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target points to a potential upside of 15.52% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on MarketAxess from $217.00 to $208.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. UBS Group decreased their price target on MarketAxess from $255.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Barclays lowered their price objective on MarketAxess from $200.00 to $186.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler set a $180.00 target price on shares of MarketAxess in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of MarketAxess from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MarketAxess currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $209.91.

MarketAxess Price Performance

MKTX stock opened at $171.40 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.44 and a beta of 0.94. MarketAxess has a 12 month low of $156.17 and a 12 month high of $275.17. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $173.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $198.21.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $208.82 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $212.59 million. MarketAxess had a net margin of 26.62% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MarketAxess will post 7.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at MarketAxess

In other MarketAxess news, CRO Kevin M. Mcpherson sold 1,494 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.32, for a total value of $276,868.08. Following the transaction, the executive owned 67,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,542,642.92. This trade represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen P. Casper sold 1,600 shares of MarketAxess stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.59, for a total transaction of $298,544.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 43,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,062,180.72. This trade represents a 3.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MarketAxess

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MKTX. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in MarketAxess by 20.7% during the first quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in MarketAxess by 18.9% in the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,005,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 8,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,910,000 after purchasing an additional 882 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of MarketAxess by 35.9% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $935,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of MarketAxess in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,171,000. 99.01% of the stock is 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.