MarketAxess Holdings Inc. $MKTX Stock Position Trimmed by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its MarketAxess stake by 85.3% in the second quarter, selling 89,435 shares and retaining 15,366 shares valued at approximately $1.74 million. Institutional investors collectively own 99.01% of MKTX.
• MarketAxess exceeded quarterly expectations with adjusted EPS of $1.95 versus the $1.85 consensus and revenue of $218.41 million, although revenue declined 0.5% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share, implying a 1.9% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the consensus rating is “Hold” with an average price target of $156.10, while several firms have reduced estimates or price targets. Additional earnings-forecast cuts and a newly announced shareholder investigation add to longer-term uncertainty.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its position in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 85.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,366 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 89,435 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in MarketAxess were worth $1,744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new stake in shares of MarketAxess during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in MarketAxess by 200.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 120 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of MarketAxess in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in MarketAxess by 215.3% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 391 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in MarketAxess by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 280 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.01% of the company's stock.

MarketAxess Stock Down 0.0%

MKTX opened at $162.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 2.17. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $127.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $151.09. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.75 and a fifty-two week high of $195.96.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.10. MarketAxess had a net margin of 35.22% and a return on equity of 22.48%. The company had revenue of $218.41 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.70 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 8.05 EPS for the current year.

MarketAxess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. MarketAxess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.79%.

MarketAxess News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting MarketAxess this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its Q1 2027 earnings forecast to $2.31 per share from $2.27, indicating some confidence in near-term earnings performance.
• Neutral Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “Market Perform” rating, while the broader analyst consensus remains around “Hold.” This suggests limited expectations for significant near-term outperformance. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Reiterates Market Perform Rating for MarketAxess
• Neutral Sentiment: A separate report highlighted questions about whether MarketAxess and CBIZ transactions provide fair value for shareholders. The report is investor commentary rather than a formal change to MarketAxess’s operations or financial outlook. Are MKTX and CBZ Obtaining Fair Deals for their Shareholders?
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research lowered its FY2026 EPS estimate to $7.98 from $8.01 and cut forecasts for Q3 and Q4 2026 to $1.94 and $1.84, respectively. The firm also reduced FY2027 EPS to $8.56 from $8.70 and trimmed estimates for multiple 2027 quarters.
• Negative Sentiment: The largest revision was to FY2028 EPS, now estimated at $8.98 versus $9.49 previously. Q1 2028 and Q2 2028 forecasts were also reduced, reinforcing concerns about longer-term earnings momentum. The current-year consensus remains $8.05 per share.
• Negative Sentiment: Brodsky & Smith announced an investigation involving MarketAxess, adding potential legal and governance uncertainty. Such notices do not establish wrongdoing, but they can weigh on investor sentiment and raise concerns about shareholder value. Brodsky & Smith Shareholder Update

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MKTX. Rothschild & Co Redburn reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $134.00 price target (down from $189.00) on shares of MarketAxess in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. UBS Group cut MarketAxess from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered MarketAxess from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $167.00 price target (up from $150.00) on shares of MarketAxess in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $132.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MarketAxess has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $156.10.

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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