Hsbc Holdings PLC Boosts Stock Holdings in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. $MKTX

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC increased its MarketAxess position by 638.7% in the first quarter, lifting its stake to 21,009 shares worth about $3.47 million.
• MarketAxess shares were up 2.1% and recently traded at $116.69, with the stock still well below its 52-week high of $214.42.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting $2.25 EPS versus the $2.15 estimate and revenue of $233.38 million; however, analysts remain cautious with a Hold consensus and an average price target of $163.18.

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 638.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,009 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 18,165 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.06% of MarketAxess worth $3,472,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKTX. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 151.0% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,683 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 1,614 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in MarketAxess by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,716 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $371,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in MarketAxess by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 3,185 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $689,000 after buying an additional 921 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings 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. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in MarketAxess during the 2nd quarter valued at $406,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.01% of the company's stock.

MarketAxess Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ MKTX opened at $116.69 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $108.75 and a one year high of $214.42. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $120.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $153.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 2.17.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $2.25 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $233.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.87 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MKTX shares. Weiss Ratings cut MarketAxess from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Bank of America upgraded MarketAxess from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $170.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $175.00 to $128.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $168.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MarketAxess currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $163.18.

MarketAxess 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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