MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• MarketAxess has been upgraded from a "sell" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting a shift in sentiment regarding the stock's performance.
• Numerous analysts have adjusted their price targets for MarketAxess, with estimates ranging from $200 to $274, while the consensus rating remains at "Hold".
• MarketAxess reported quarterly earnings of $2.00 per share, exceeding expectations, and showed a year-over-year revenue increase of 11.0% to $219.46 million.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $295.00 to $255.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $223.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $237.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $283.00 to $274.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $204.00 target price (up previously from $202.00) on shares of MarketAxess in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MarketAxess presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $229.70.

MarketAxess Price Performance

Shares of MKTX stock traded up $2.26 on Friday, hitting $189.27. The stock had a trading volume of 937,233 shares, compared to its average volume of 591,834. The business has a 50 day moving average of $215.61 and a 200 day moving average of $213.39. The stock has a market cap of $7.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.84. MarketAxess has a 12-month low of $182.99 and a 12-month high of $296.68.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $219.46 million during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that MarketAxess will post 7.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. MarketAxess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MarketAxess

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MKTX. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 329.4% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 618,922 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $133,904,000 after acquiring an additional 474,776 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,298,409 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $519,533,000 after acquiring an additional 236,118 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of MarketAxess in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,079,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in MarketAxess by 999.6% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 222,342 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $48,104,000 after purchasing an additional 202,121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in MarketAxess by 25,960.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183,465 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,693,000 after purchasing an additional 182,761 shares during the last quarter. 99.01% of the stock is currently 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.