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

Shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. 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 trading hands.

The financial services provider reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.09. MarketAxess had a net margin of 35.53% and a return on equity of 22.28%. The company’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MKTX has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on shares of MarketAxess in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded MarketAxess from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on MarketAxess from $168.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on MarketAxess from $170.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MarketAxess presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.18.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new position in MarketAxess during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of MarketAxess during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 215.3% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. 99.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MarketAxess Stock Up 29.8%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $119.45 and a 200 day moving average of $151.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 2.17.

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.