MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Key Points

• MarketAxess shares jumped 29.8%, opening at $163.15 versus the prior close of $125.73 after the company reported quarterly results.
• The company posted $1.95 in EPS, beating the $1.86 consensus estimate, although revenue declined 0.5% year over year and EPS fell from $2.00 in the prior-year quarter.
• Analysts remain cautious, with a consensus “Hold” rating and a $163.18 target price; institutional investors own approximately 99.01% of the stock.

MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $125.73, but opened at $163.15. MarketAxess shares last traded at $163.15, with a volume of 1,924,128 shares.

The financial services provider reported $1.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.09. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 22.28% and a net margin of 35.53%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.00 EPS. MarketAxess's revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MKTX has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on MarketAxess from $168.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $195.00 to $129.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. Bank of America upgraded shares of MarketAxess from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $170.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $175.00 to $128.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $170.00 to $132.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MarketAxess presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $163.18.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MarketAxess

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 638.7% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 21,009 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,472,000 after purchasing an additional 18,165 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in MarketAxess by 163.1% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 12,579 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,280,000 after buying an additional 7,798 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in MarketAxess in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,326,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in MarketAxess by 190.5% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 75,665 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,714,000 after buying an additional 49,619 shares during the period. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in MarketAxess in the second quarter worth approximately $406,000. 99.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MarketAxess Stock Up 29.8%

The company has a quick ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $151.77. The stock has a market cap of $5.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.88.

MarketAxess Company Profile

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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