Piper Sandler Boosts MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Price Target to $265.00

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTXFree Report) had its price target increased by Piper Sandler from $235.00 to $265.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

MKTX has been the topic of several other reports. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $193.00 to $185.00 and set an underperform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on MarketAxess from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $218.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com raised MarketAxess from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $204.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $249.80.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on MarketAxess

MarketAxess Stock Performance

Shares of MKTX stock opened at $278.10 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.07, a P/E/G ratio of 7.24 and a beta of 1.08. MarketAxess has a 1-year low of $192.42 and a 1-year high of $297.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.91, a quick ratio of 2.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $250.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $223.30.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTXGet Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $197.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $198.07 million. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.43% and a net margin of 33.71%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MarketAxess will post 7.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 6th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 2.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This is a boost from MarketAxess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christophe Pierre Danie Roupie sold 617 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.63, for a total transaction of $142,915.71. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,716,146.67. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MarketAxess

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of MarketAxess by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MarketAxess during the third quarter worth $54,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in MarketAxess in the third quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, Covea Finance lifted its stake in MarketAxess by 149.1% in the third quarter. Covea Finance now owns 13,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,510,000 after buying an additional 8,200 shares during the period. 99.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About MarketAxess

(Get Free Report)

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.

See Also

Analyst Recommendations for MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX)

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