MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Sets New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?
by Teresa Graham · The Cerbat GemMarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX – Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $136.08 and last traded at $137.0850, with a volume of 20775 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $137.78.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several brokerages have commented on MKTX. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $225.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MarketAxess from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $189.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on shares of MarketAxess in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of MarketAxess from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MarketAxess presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $190.88.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on MarketAxess
MarketAxess Stock Performance
The stock has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $163.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.29. The company has a quick ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.
MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $233.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.91 million. MarketAxess had a net margin of 35.53% and a return on equity of 22.28%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.87 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.
MarketAxess Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.88%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On MarketAxess
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKTX. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in MarketAxess during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in MarketAxess by 200.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in MarketAxess during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new position in MarketAxess during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in MarketAxess during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.01% of the company’s stock.
About MarketAxess
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.