William Blair Analysts Boost Earnings Estimates for MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) – Equities research analysts at William Blair boosted their Q2 2024 earnings per share estimates for MarketAxess in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, July 3rd. William Blair analyst J. Schmitt now expects that the financial services provider will post earnings of $1.72 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $1.68. The consensus estimate for MarketAxess’ current full-year earnings is $7.11 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for MarketAxess’ Q3 2024 earnings at $1.65 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $1.70 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $7.00 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.96 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.06 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.96 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.12 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $8.10 EPS.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on MKTX. UBS Group dropped their target price on MarketAxess from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of MarketAxess in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $199.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $230.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $236.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $248.64.

MarketAxess Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MKTX opened at $204.40 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $7.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.01, a P/E/G ratio of 5.13 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $203.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $223.70. MarketAxess has a 52-week low of $192.42 and a 52-week high of $297.97.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $210.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.99 million. MarketAxess had a net margin of 33.83% and a return on equity of 20.82%. MarketAxess’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share.

MarketAxess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. MarketAxess’s payout ratio is presently 43.47%.

Insider Activity at MarketAxess

In other MarketAxess news, Director Stephen P. Casper sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.48, for a total transaction of $99,740.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,034,895.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MarketAxess

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of MarketAxess by 347.6% in 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 during the period. Gladius Capital Management LP grew its holdings in MarketAxess by 39.6% during the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in MarketAxess by 1,030.8% during the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in MarketAxess by 155.8% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 47.3% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 99.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.