Analysts Set MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) Price Target at $156.10

Shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have issued a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $156.10.

MKTX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of MarketAxess in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MarketAxess in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced 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. William Blair lowered MarketAxess from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $195.00 to $129.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th.

Key Headlines Impacting MarketAxess

Here are the key news stories impacting MarketAxess this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its Q1 2027 earnings forecast to $2.31 per share from $2.27, indicating some confidence in near-term earnings performance.
• Neutral Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “Market Perform” rating, while the broader analyst consensus remains around “Hold.” This suggests limited expectations for significant near-term outperformance. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Reiterates Market Perform Rating for MarketAxess
• Neutral Sentiment: A separate report highlighted questions about whether MarketAxess and CBIZ transactions provide fair value for shareholders. The report is investor commentary rather than a formal change to MarketAxess’s operations or financial outlook. Are MKTX and CBZ Obtaining Fair Deals for their Shareholders?
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research lowered its FY2026 EPS estimate to $7.98 from $8.01 and cut forecasts for Q3 and Q4 2026 to $1.94 and $1.84, respectively. The firm also reduced FY2027 EPS to $8.56 from $8.70 and trimmed estimates for multiple 2027 quarters.
• Negative Sentiment: The largest revision was to FY2028 EPS, now estimated at $8.98 versus $9.49 previously. Q1 2028 and Q2 2028 forecasts were also reduced, reinforcing concerns about longer-term earnings momentum. The current-year consensus remains $8.05 per share.
• Negative Sentiment: Brodsky & Smith announced an investigation involving MarketAxess, adding potential legal and governance uncertainty. Such notices do not establish wrongdoing, but they can weigh on investor sentiment and raise concerns about shareholder value. Brodsky & Smith Shareholder Update

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKTX. Amundi increased its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 803.9% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 258,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,682,000 after purchasing an additional 230,087 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in MarketAxess by 32.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 263,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,531,000 after purchasing an additional 64,627 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in MarketAxess by 190.5% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 75,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,714,000 after purchasing an additional 49,619 shares during the period. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. grew its holdings in MarketAxess by 523.8% during the first quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 104,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,187,000 after purchasing an additional 87,474 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.01% of the company’s stock.

MarketAxess Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of MarketAxess stock opened at $162.57 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $151.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a PE ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.83. MarketAxess has a 52-week low of $108.75 and a 52-week high of $195.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 2.17 and a current ratio of 1.85.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $218.41 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.70 million. MarketAxess had a net margin of 35.22% and a return on equity of 22.48%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.00 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that MarketAxess will post 8.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. MarketAxess’s payout ratio is presently 36.79%.

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.