Zacks Research Has Weak Estimate for MarketAxess Q1 Earnings

MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research reduced their Q1 2026 EPS estimates for MarketAxess in a research report issued on Friday, February 20th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings of $2.05 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.09. Zacks Research has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for MarketAxess’ current full-year earnings is $7.79 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for MarketAxess’ Q3 2026 earnings at $2.00 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.95 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $8.03 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $2.24 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $2.23 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $2.16 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $2.15 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $8.79 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $9.58 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded MarketAxess from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $182.00 to $178.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 9th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MarketAxess from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MarketAxess currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $200.40.

MarketAxess Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ MKTX opened at $181.23 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $175.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.06. The stock has a market cap of $6.74 billion, a PE ratio of 27.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 3.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. MarketAxess has a 52-week low of $156.17 and a 52-week high of $232.84.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.72 by ($0.04). MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.88% and a net margin of 29.14%.The firm had revenue of $209.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $214.06 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.73 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This is an increase from MarketAxess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. MarketAxess’s payout ratio is currently 46.85%.

Institutional Trading of MarketAxess

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in MarketAxess by 169.0% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,558,097 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $463,655,000 after purchasing an additional 1,607,009 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 42.4% in the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,175,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $575,546,000 after buying an additional 944,830 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 5,086.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 951,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $172,373,000 after buying an additional 932,687 shares in the last quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP grew its holdings in MarketAxess by 76.6% during the fourth quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 1,609,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $291,691,000 after acquiring an additional 697,972 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in MarketAxess during the second quarter worth $114,593,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.01% of the company’s stock.

More MarketAxess News

Here are the key news stories impacting MarketAxess this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks lifted multiple fiscal-year estimates (FY2026 to $8.03 from $7.77; FY2027 to $8.79 from $8.16; FY2028 to $9.58), implying stronger medium‑term earnings power and supporting valuation upside.
• Positive Sentiment: Several quarterly upgrades for 2026–2027 (examples: Q1 2027 to $2.24, Q2 2027 to $2.23, Q3 2027 to $2.16, Q4 2026 to $1.95, Q3 2026 to $2.00) point to improved near‑term revenue/earnings trajectories that can boost short‑term sentiment.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks retains a “Hold” rating despite raising estimates, signaling analysts see upside in numbers but remain cautious on valuation or execution risks; Zacks’ forecasts still differ from street consensus (consensus ~ $7.79 FY).
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks trimmed one near‑term estimate (Q1 2026 to $2.05 from $2.09), a small downgrade that could limit immediate upside if results or guidance fall short of the newly raised expectations.

MarketAxess Company Profile

MarketAxess Holdings Inc operates a leading global electronic trading platform specializing in fixed-income securities and related products. The company’s network enables institutional investors and broker-dealers to trade corporate bonds, municipal securities, emerging markets debt, U.S. Treasuries and credit default swaps in an automated, multi-dealer environment. MarketAxess also offers portfolio trading, data analytics, best-execution tools and post-trade services to streamline workflows and enhance price discovery across its marketplace.

In addition to core voice-like trading protocols, MarketAxess provides Open Trading®, an anonymous, all-to-all trading protocol designed to improve liquidity and transaction efficiency.