Baillie Gifford & Co. Has $47.87 Million Position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford & Co. has reduced its stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. by 27.0%, selling 81,960 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with a total of 221,240 shares worth approximately $47.87 million.
• Several analysts have altered their ratings and price targets for MarketAxess, with Barclays lowering its target from $240.00 to $237.00, while UBS reaffirms a "buy" rating with a target price of $295.00.
• MarketAxess reported earnings of $1.87 per share for the last quarter, slightly above analyst expectations of $1.82, but revenue of $208.58 million fell short of the forecast of $211.81 million.

Baillie Gifford & Co. decreased its position in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 27.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 221,240 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 81,960 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned 0.59% of MarketAxess worth $47,865,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in MarketAxess in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $119,095,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in MarketAxess by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,300,536 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $520,013,000 after buying an additional 341,493 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in MarketAxess by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,298,409 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $519,533,000 after buying an additional 236,118 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in MarketAxess in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,079,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in MarketAxess by 25,960.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183,465 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,693,000 after buying an additional 182,761 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.01% of the company's stock.

MarketAxess Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of MKTX traded up $2.55 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $209.72. 153,866 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 576,966. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $186.84 and a one year high of $296.68. The business has a 50-day moving average of $218.30 and a 200 day moving average of $214.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.47, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.85.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $208.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $211.81 million. MarketAxess had a net margin of 26.57% and a return on equity of 19.93%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.92 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered MarketAxess from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $295.00 price target on shares of MarketAxess in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays reduced their price target on MarketAxess from $240.00 to $237.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. William Blair began coverage on MarketAxess in a research note on Friday, April 4th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on MarketAxess from $283.00 to $274.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $240.67.

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.