Brokerages Set MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) PT at $216.58

Shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $216.5833.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $255.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of MarketAxess in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $217.00 to $208.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $274.00 to $253.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $200.00 to $186.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th.

MarketAxess Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:MKTX opened at $171.26 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a PE ratio of 28.83, a P/E/G ratio of 6.91 and a beta of 0.89. MarketAxess has a twelve month low of $161.61 and a twelve month high of $296.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $180.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $204.29.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $219.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $218.05 million. MarketAxess had a net margin of 26.62% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.72 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that MarketAxess will post 7.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at MarketAxess

In other news, CRO Kevin M. Mcpherson sold 1,494 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.32, for a total value of $276,868.08. Following the sale, the executive directly owned 67,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,542,642.92. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen P. Casper sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.59, for a total transaction of $298,544.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 43,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,062,180.72. The trade was a 3.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MarketAxess

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MKTX. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new stake in MarketAxess in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in MarketAxess by 200.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in MarketAxess by 992.9% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in MarketAxess in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in MarketAxess by 51.2% in the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. 99.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.