MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Hits New 12-Month Low - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• MarketAxess shares hit a new 52-week low, trading as low as $151.80 and last at $154.89 on volume of 373,243 shares.
• Analysts' consensus is a "Hold" (three Buy, seven Hold) with a consensus target of $201.11, though several firms recently trimmed targets (UBS to $225, Piper Sandler to $175).
• The company missed the latest quarter (EPS $1.68 vs. $1.72 estimate; revenue $209.4M vs. $214.1M) but shows strong profitability (net margin ~29%, ROE ~20.9%) and low leverage (debt/equity 0.19).

MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $151.80 and last traded at $154.89, with a volume of 373243 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $152.87.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MKTX has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MarketAxess from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MarketAxess from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on shares of MarketAxess in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $201.11.

MarketAxess Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 2.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.92. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $173.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $172.37.

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

Institutional Trading of MarketAxess

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new stake in MarketAxess in the second quarter worth $25,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in MarketAxess by 200.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 120 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in MarketAxess in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new stake in MarketAxess in the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Stance Capital LLC bought a new stake in MarketAxess in the third quarter worth $42,000. 99.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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