Zacks Research Lowers Earnings Estimates for MarketAxess

MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q4 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of MarketAxess in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, May 21st. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the financial services provider will earn $2.12 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $2.24. The consensus estimate for MarketAxess' current full-year earnings is $7.79 per share.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $208.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.81 million. MarketAxess had a net margin of 33.56% and a return on equity of 20.23%. The firm's revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.92 earnings per share.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on MKTX. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on MarketAxess from $223.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on MarketAxess from $235.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on MarketAxess from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on MarketAxess from $263.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MarketAxess currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $241.78.

MarketAxess Stock Performance

Shares of MKTX stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $217.87. 378,982 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 502,421. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $217.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $222.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.89. MarketAxess has a 12-month low of $186.84 and a 12-month high of $296.68.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MarketAxess

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 200.0% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 120 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of MarketAxess by 11.0% during the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 7,071 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,530,000 after acquiring an additional 703 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its position in shares of MarketAxess by 6,904.2% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 3,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $727,000 after acquiring an additional 3,314 shares during the last quarter. Optimize Financial Inc increased its position in shares of MarketAxess by 53.2% during the first quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 1,912 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $414,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP increased its position in shares of MarketAxess by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 3,185 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $689,000 after acquiring an additional 921 shares during the last quarter. 99.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MarketAxess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. MarketAxess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.87%.

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.