MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Sets New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $113.29 and last traded at $113.46, with a volume of 664482 shares. The stock had previously closed at $118.17.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on MarketAxess in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $225.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of MarketAxess from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Argus lowered shares of MarketAxess from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, May 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $183.10.

MarketAxess Stock Up 3.4%

The firm has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $137.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $162.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 2.17 and a current ratio of 2.17.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.87 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 8 EPS for the current year.

MarketAxess Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. MarketAxess’s payout ratio is 36.88%.

Institutional Trading of MarketAxess

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new position in shares of MarketAxess during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in MarketAxess by 200.0% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in MarketAxess during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Stance Capital LLC bought a new position in MarketAxess during the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in MarketAxess by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. 99.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.