IFM Investors Pty Ltd Takes Position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 7,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,550,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in MarketAxess by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,526,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,325,563,000 after buying an additional 34,197 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,705,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $364,462,000 after acquiring an additional 33,288 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in MarketAxess by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,367,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $400,506,000 after purchasing an additional 101,829 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its stake in MarketAxess by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 1,122,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $328,742,000 after purchasing an additional 4,340 shares during the period. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in MarketAxess by 40.0% in the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 716,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,134,000 after purchasing an additional 204,660 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.01% of the company’s stock.

MarketAxess Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of MKTX traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $201.79. The stock had a trading volume of 253,643 shares, compared to its average volume of 334,279. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $199.34 and a fifty-two week high of $322.25. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $214.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $236.64. The firm has a market cap of $7.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.98.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $197.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $196.70 million. MarketAxess had a net margin of 34.29% and a return on equity of 21.76%. MarketAxess’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.58 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MKTX shares. Piper Sandler cut their price target on MarketAxess from $250.00 to $237.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on MarketAxess from $263.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Bank of America started coverage on MarketAxess in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $199.00 price target for the company. Barclays lowered their price target on MarketAxess from $239.00 to $236.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $252.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CRO Kevin M. Mcpherson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.26, for a total transaction of $442,520.00. Following the transaction, the executive now owns 70,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,508,555.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

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.