Bank of Nova Scotia Grows Stock Position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. $MKTX

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia increased its MarketAxess stake by 86.7% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 24,612 shares valued at approximately $4.06 million. Institutional investors collectively own 99.01% of the company.
• MarketAxess reported quarterly EPS of $2.25, exceeding estimates of $2.15, while revenue rose 11.9% year over year to $233.38 million. The company posted a 35.53% net margin and 22.28% return on equity.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $163.18; several firms recently cut their targets, while the stock was trading near $122.05.

Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 86.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,612 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,429 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.07% of MarketAxess worth $4,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKTX. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 3,522 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $614,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in MarketAxess by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 4,203 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $939,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Krilogy Financial LLC raised its holdings in MarketAxess by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 7,884 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,368,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in MarketAxess by 200.0% in the first 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. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in MarketAxess by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 7,181 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,302,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 99.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MarketAxess Stock Performance

Shares of MarketAxess stock opened at $122.05 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 2.17. The business has a 50-day moving average of $119.69 and a 200 day moving average of $152.10. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $108.75 and a 12 month high of $210.94.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.10. MarketAxess had a net margin of 35.53% and a return on equity of 22.28%. The company had revenue of $233.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.87 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on MKTX. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $175.00 to $128.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $168.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of MarketAxess in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on shares of MarketAxess in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of MarketAxess from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $163.18.

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.

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