Morgan Stanley Downgrades MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) to Equal Weight

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) was downgraded by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $209.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their prior target price of $247.00. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 29.24% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently commented on MKTX. Wall Street Zen upgraded MarketAxess from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on MarketAxess from $186.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of MarketAxess in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on MarketAxess from $217.00 to $208.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on MarketAxess from $194.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Four investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $205.91.

MarketAxess Price Performance

MarketAxess stock opened at $161.72 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.44 and a beta of 0.94. MarketAxess has a 1-year low of $156.17 and a 1-year high of $266.21. The company’s 50-day moving average is $171.16 and its 200 day moving average is $195.57.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.15. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 26.62%.The firm had revenue of $208.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $212.59 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that MarketAxess will post 7.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CRO Kevin M. Mcpherson sold 1,494 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.32, for a total transaction of $276,868.08. Following the sale, the executive owned 67,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,542,642.92. This trade represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Stephen P. Casper sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.59, for a total transaction of $298,544.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 43,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,062,180.72. This trade represents a 3.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MarketAxess

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 16.4% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 19,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,334,000 after buying an additional 2,784 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 210.8% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,764,000 after purchasing an additional 11,801 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in MarketAxess in the 1st quarter valued at $543,000. Ethic Inc. grew its position in MarketAxess by 190.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 3,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $682,000 after purchasing an additional 2,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired a new position in MarketAxess in the 1st quarter valued at about $362,000. 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.