MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) Stake Lifted by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. by 210.8%, holding 17,400 shares valued at approximately $3.76 million after purchasing an additional 11,801 shares.
• MarketAxess has received mixed ratings from analysts: Morgan Stanley lowered its price target to $274 while Citigroup increased theirs to $265, indicating a generally cautious outlook.
• The stock price of MarketAxess recently fell to $207.67, with a market cap of $7.79 billion and a year-to-date high of $296.68.

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 210.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,801 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in MarketAxess were worth $3,764,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MKTX. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in MarketAxess in the 1st quarter worth approximately $280,000. Praxis Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in MarketAxess in the 1st quarter worth approximately $376,000. Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd. grew its stake in MarketAxess by 26.6% in the 1st quarter. Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd. now owns 60,492 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,087,000 after acquiring an additional 12,697 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in MarketAxess by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 630,526 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $142,524,000 after acquiring an additional 15,713 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in MarketAxess by 13.6% in the 1st quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 24,671 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,338,000 after acquiring an additional 2,947 shares during the period. 99.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MarketAxess Trading Up 1.4%

MKTX traded up $2.86 on Wednesday, hitting $210.03. 224,594 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 577,436. The firm has a market cap of $7.88 billion, a PE ratio of 36.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.85. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $186.84 and a twelve month high of $296.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $218.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.61.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MKTX. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of MarketAxess from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. William Blair began coverage on shares of MarketAxess in a research note on Friday, April 4th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $295.00 price objective on shares of MarketAxess in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of 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 given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $240.67.

MarketAxess Company 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.