MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Hits New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $113.29 and last traded at $113.46, with a volume of 664482 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $118.17.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MKTX. Argus cut MarketAxess from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Barclays dropped their price target on MarketAxess from $189.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $134.00 price target (down from $189.00) on shares of MarketAxess in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Bank of America upgraded shares of MarketAxess from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on MarketAxess from $225.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $183.10.

MarketAxess Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50 day moving average is $140.31 and its 200 day moving average is $163.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.10. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 22.28% and a net margin of 35.53%.The business had revenue of $233.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $231.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.87 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.88%.

Institutional Trading of MarketAxess

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in MarketAxess during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 200.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of MarketAxess during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Stance Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of MarketAxess during the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. 99.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About MarketAxess

MarketAxess Holdings Inc operates a leading global electronic trading platform specializing in fixed-income securities and related products. The company’s network enables institutional investors and broker-dealers to trade corporate bonds, municipal securities, emerging markets debt, U.S. Treasuries and credit default swaps in an automated, multi-dealer environment. MarketAxess also offers portfolio trading, data analytics, best-execution tools and post-trade services to streamline workflows and enhance price discovery across its marketplace.

In addition to core voice-like trading protocols, MarketAxess provides Open Trading®, an anonymous, all-to-all trading protocol designed to improve liquidity and transaction efficiency.