MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Raised to “Overweight” at Morgan Stanley

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) was upgraded by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $235.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America lifted their target price on MarketAxess from $189.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on MarketAxess from $305.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, William Blair started coverage on MarketAxess in a research note on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MarketAxess has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $255.11.

MarketAxess Price Performance

NASDAQ:MKTX opened at $209.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.60, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $206.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $237.04. MarketAxess has a one year low of $186.84 and a one year high of $296.68.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.03. MarketAxess had a net margin of 33.56% and a return on equity of 20.23%. On average, equities research analysts expect that MarketAxess will post 7.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MarketAxess

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 179.5% during the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Allianz SE acquired a new position in shares of MarketAxess in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in MarketAxess by 495.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in MarketAxess by 13,900.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its stake in MarketAxess by 185.7% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.01% of the company’s stock.

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.