MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) Shares Sold by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS reduced its stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. by 47.1%, owning 7,300 shares worth approximately $1.58 million after selling 6,500 shares in the 1st quarter.
• MarketAxess reported an earnings per share of $1.87 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates, but its revenue fell 0.8% year-over-year.
• MarketAxess has a current market capitalization of $7.93 billion and a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" with a target price of $240.67.

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS cut its stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 47.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,500 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in MarketAxess were worth $1,579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MKTX. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 49.1% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 164 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 483 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 1,701 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $384,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 422 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 19.6% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 446 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 99.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on MKTX shares. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $204.00 price objective (up from $202.00) on shares of MarketAxess in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on MarketAxess from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays cut their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on MarketAxess from $223.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $295.00 target price on shares of MarketAxess in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $240.67.

MarketAxess Price Performance

NASDAQ:MKTX traded up $2.92 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $210.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 471,191 shares, compared to its average volume of 324,994. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $186.84 and a fifty-two week high of $296.68. The firm has a market cap of $7.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.85. The firm's 50 day moving average is $218.30 and its 200-day moving average is $214.61.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $208.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.81 million. MarketAxess had a net margin of 26.57% and a return on equity of 19.93%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.92 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 EPS for the current year.

MarketAxess Profile

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.