MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) Short Interest Up 102.0% in December
by Teresa Graham · The Cerbat GemMarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX – Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,756,858 shares, a growth of 102.0% from the November 30th total of 1,364,812 shares. Currently, 7.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 695,523 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.0 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 695,523 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.0 days. Currently, 7.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research analysts have weighed in on MKTX shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of MarketAxess in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Piper Sandler set a $180.00 price objective on MarketAxess in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Argus reduced their price objective on MarketAxess from $212.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Zacks Research raised MarketAxess from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on MarketAxess from $209.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $204.82.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on MKTX
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new stake in shares of MarketAxess during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in MarketAxess by 200.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in MarketAxess by 992.9% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in MarketAxess in the second quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in shares of MarketAxess during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 99.01% of the company’s stock.
MarketAxess Trading Up 0.2%
Shares of MKTX stock traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $182.86. The stock had a trading volume of 309,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 720,073. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $187.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.80 billion, a PE ratio of 31.10, a PEG ratio of 6.61 and a beta of 1.00. MarketAxess has a 12 month low of $156.17 and a 12 month high of $232.84.
MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.15. MarketAxess had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 20.20%. The business had revenue of $208.82 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.59 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. MarketAxess’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MarketAxess will post 7.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.
MarketAxess Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 19th were paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 19th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.70%.
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.