MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

by · The Cerbat Gem

Shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTXGet Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $216.15, but opened at $227.35. MarketAxess shares last traded at $224.73, with a volume of 101,258 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on MKTX shares. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $189.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group lowered their price objective on MarketAxess from $330.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on MarketAxess from $251.00 to $225.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $265.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on MarketAxess from $256.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $255.44.

Check Out Our Latest Report on MKTX

MarketAxess Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $206.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $238.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.29 billion, a PE ratio of 30.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.12.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTXGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.03. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.23% and a net margin of 33.56%. On average, equities analysts predict that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 earnings per share for the current year.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a $0.76 dividend. This is an increase from MarketAxess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. MarketAxess’s payout ratio is presently 41.82%.

Institutional Trading of MarketAxess

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Hawaiian Bank acquired a new position in shares of MarketAxess in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,088,000. Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 8,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in MarketAxess by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 363,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $82,103,000 after purchasing an additional 5,153 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in MarketAxess in the fourth quarter valued at about $539,000. Finally, Taika Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of MarketAxess during the fourth quarter worth about $2,689,000. 99.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About MarketAxess

(Get Free Report)

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.

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