MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Reaches New 1-Year Low - What's Next?

Key Points

• MarketAxess hit a new 52-week low — shares fell to $155.34 and last traded around $157.33 on Wednesday with about 132,000 shares changing hands.
• Analysts are mixed with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target of about $201.11 after several firms trimmed targets, though Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage with an Outperform and a $195 target.
• Earnings and fundamentals disappointed modestly: Q4 EPS was $1.68 (missed by $0.04) and revenue was $209.4M (below estimates), while the company retains a ~24x P/E, strong liquidity ratios (~2.8), and roughly 99% institutional ownership.

MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $155.34 and last traded at $157.3310, with a volume of 132026 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.49.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MKTX shares. Weiss Ratings raised MarketAxess from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen raised MarketAxess from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Barclays reduced their target price on MarketAxess from $182.00 to $178.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on MarketAxess from $204.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on MarketAxess in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $201.11.

MarketAxess Trading Up 1.5%

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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $172.55. The company has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in shares of MarketAxess during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake 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 last quarter. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of MarketAxess during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new position in shares of MarketAxess during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Stance Capital LLC purchased a new stake in MarketAxess during the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.01% of the company's stock.

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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