MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Lowered to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

Key Points

• MarketAxess has been downgraded from a "hold" to a "strong sell" rating by Zacks Research, indicating significant potential concerns regarding the stock's performance.
• Analyst projections for MarketAxess' earnings show expected EPS growth, with FY2025 earnings estimated at $7.26 EPS and FY2026 at $7.79 EPS.
• Despite the downgrade, MarketAxess has a consensus price target of $216.58, with mixed ratings from analysts: five have a Buy rating, while two have issued a Sell rating.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports. Zacks Research also issued estimates for MarketAxess' Q3 2025 earnings at $1.68 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.71 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $7.26 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.16 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.98 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.84 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.80 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $7.79 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $2.30 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $2.18 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $2.02 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $8.56 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on MKTX. Piper Sandler set a $180.00 price objective on MarketAxess in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on MarketAxess from $274.00 to $253.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $217.00 to $208.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Barclays lowered their target price on MarketAxess from $200.00 to $186.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on MarketAxess from $255.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MarketAxess currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $216.58.

MarketAxess Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of MKTX stock opened at $171.68 on Monday. MarketAxess has a fifty-two week low of $161.61 and a fifty-two week high of $296.68. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $180.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $203.78. The stock has a market cap of $6.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.90 and a beta of 0.89.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $219.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $218.05 million. MarketAxess had a net margin of 26.62% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.72 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that MarketAxess will post 7.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at MarketAxess

In other MarketAxess news, Director Stephen P. Casper sold 1,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.59, for a total transaction of $298,544.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 43,208 shares in the company, valued at $8,062,180.72. The trade was a 3.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CRO Kevin M. Mcpherson sold 1,494 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.32, for a total transaction of $276,868.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive owned 67,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,542,642.92. The trade was a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MarketAxess

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MKTX. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. bought a new position in shares of MarketAxess during the third quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in MarketAxess during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in MarketAxess during the 3rd quarter worth $80,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in MarketAxess by 262.2% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 355 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in MarketAxess by 36.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 26,046 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,539,000 after buying an additional 6,934 shares during the period. 99.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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