Morgan Stanley Boosts MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Price Target to $314.00

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) had its price target raised by Morgan Stanley from $262.00 to $314.00 in a research report report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America cut their price objective on MarketAxess from $193.00 to $185.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup upped their price target on MarketAxess from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $204.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on MarketAxess from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.30.

MarketAxess Price Performance

Shares of MarketAxess stock opened at $288.83 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.91, a current ratio of 2.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market cap of $10.95 billion, a PE ratio of 42.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.24 and a beta of 1.08. MarketAxess has a 12-month low of $192.42 and a 12-month high of $297.97. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $255.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $225.94.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.04. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.43% and a net margin of 33.71%. The company had revenue of $197.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $198.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that MarketAxess will post 7.16 EPS for the current year.

MarketAxess announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 6th that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 2.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at MarketAxess

In other MarketAxess 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,409 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in MarketAxess during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of MarketAxess by 2,428.6% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 405.1% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in MarketAxess by 47.4% in the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in MarketAxess in the 3rd quarter worth $54,000. 99.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.