MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) Short Interest Down 22.3% in September

MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 631,300 shares, a decline of 22.3% from the September 15th total of 812,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 378,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

MarketAxess Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of MKTX traded up $6.40 during trading on Monday, reaching $284.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 325,358 shares, compared to its average volume of 413,111. The company has a fifty day moving average of $251.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $223.86. MarketAxess has a twelve month low of $192.42 and a twelve month high of $297.97. The company has a market cap of $10.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.78, a P/E/G ratio of 7.24 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 2.91, a current ratio of 2.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $198.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. MarketAxess’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MarketAxess will post 7.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. This is a positive change from MarketAxess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.47%.

MarketAxess announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, August 6th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 2.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at MarketAxess

In other news, insider Christophe Pierre Danie Roupie sold 617 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was 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 owns 7,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,716,146.67. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 2.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MarketAxess

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MarketAxess during the 2nd quarter valued at 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 acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MarketAxess during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its position in shares of MarketAxess by 555.6% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 99.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MKTX. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on MarketAxess from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on MarketAxess from $204.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on MarketAxess from $237.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on MarketAxess from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised MarketAxess from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MarketAxess has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $249.80.

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.