MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) saw a significant decline in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 975,000 shares, a decline of 15.9% from the May 15th total of 1,160,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 427,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Currently, 2.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

MarketAxess Stock Performance

Shares of MKTX stock opened at $200.22 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $206.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $231.31. The company has a market cap of $7.59 billion, a PE ratio of 29.40, a P/E/G ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 1.04. MarketAxess has a fifty-two week low of $192.54 and a fifty-two week high of $297.97.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $210.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.99 million. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.82% and a net margin of 33.83%. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that MarketAxess will post 7.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were issued a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 21st. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MKTX. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. UBS Group lowered their target price on MarketAxess from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on MarketAxess from $250.00 to $237.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Bank of America initiated coverage on MarketAxess in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $199.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on MarketAxess from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $249.73.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen P. Casper sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.48, for a total transaction of $99,740.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,201 shares in the company, valued at $2,034,895.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MarketAxess

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 347.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 39.6% during the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 1,030.8% during the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 155.8% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 47.3% during the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.01% of the company’s stock.

MarketAxess Company Profile

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.