MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Hits New 12-Month Low - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• MarketAxess' stock price has reached a new 12-month low of $177.84, continuing its decline with an average rating of "Hold" from analysts and a consensus target price of $228.09.
• Despite the decline in stock price, the company reported earnings per share of $2.00 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 11.0%.
• MarketAxess recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76, providing a yield of 1.7% and indicating a stable dividend payout ratio of 51.18%.

MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $177.84 and last traded at $177.96, with a volume of 140004 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $179.71.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on MarketAxess from $295.00 to $255.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $204.00 price objective (up from $202.00) on shares of MarketAxess in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on MarketAxess from $283.00 to $274.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Argus raised MarketAxess from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $212.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on MarketAxess from $217.00 to $208.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $228.09.

MarketAxess Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $194.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $209.97. The company has a market capitalization of $6.68 billion, a PE ratio of 30.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.88.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $219.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $218.05 million. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 26.62%.MarketAxess's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.72 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. MarketAxess's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MarketAxess

In related news, Director Stephen P. Casper sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.59, for a total value of $298,544.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 43,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,062,180.72. This represents a 3.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CRO Kevin M. Mcpherson sold 1,494 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.32, for a total transaction of $276,868.08. Following the sale, the executive owned 67,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,542,642.92. This trade represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MarketAxess

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new stake in MarketAxess in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 200.0% during the 1st 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 period. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 992.9% during the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 153 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in MarketAxess by 49.1% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 164 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in MarketAxess in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. 99.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About MarketAxess

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.

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