Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd. Lowers Stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. $MKTX

Key Points

• Wilson Asset Management International reduced its stake by 21.4% in MarketAxess during Q4, selling 10,729 shares and leaving it with 39,461 shares (≈0.11% of MKTX), worth $7.15 million and making MKTX about 1.8% of the firm's portfolio.
• MarketAxess missed quarterly expectations with EPS of $1.68 vs. $1.72 consensus and revenue of $209.4M vs. $214.1M, and the stock was down about 2.3% (opening at $151.29).
• Analysts have trimmed price targets and the consensus rating is "Hold" with an average target of $201.11, though UBS still maintains a Buy rating.

Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 21.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,461 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,729 shares during the quarter. MarketAxess makes up approximately 1.8% of Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd. owned approximately 0.11% of MarketAxess worth $7,152,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MKTX. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new stake in shares of MarketAxess during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of MarketAxess in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of MarketAxess in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Stance Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MarketAxess in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 99.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded MarketAxess from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $204.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $182.00 to $178.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MarketAxess has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $201.11.

MarketAxess Stock Down 2.3%

MarketAxess stock opened at $151.29 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $173.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $172.22. The company has a quick ratio of 2.80, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.92. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $148.52 and a twelve month high of $232.84.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $209.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $214.06 million. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.88% and a net margin of 29.14%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.73 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About MarketAxess

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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