MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Price Target Lowered to $210.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) had its price target lowered by The Goldman Sachs Group from $235.00 to $210.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 5.45% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $256.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $258.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $262.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $265.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $251.00 to $225.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $254.78.

MarketAxess Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MKTX traded down $2.23 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $199.15. 101,982 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 498,014. MarketAxess has a 12-month low of $192.42 and a 12-month high of $296.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $226.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $247.22. The firm has a market cap of $7.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.36, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 1.02.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.03. MarketAxess had a net margin of 33.56% and a return on equity of 20.23%. As a group, equities analysts expect that MarketAxess will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Richard M. Mcvey sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.75, for a total transaction of $5,435,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 592,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $160,883,880.75. This trade represents a 3.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Scott Pintoff sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.57, for a total transaction of $72,171.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 8,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,997,212.14. The trade was a 3.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,300 shares of company stock worth $8,183,871. Insiders own 2.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MarketAxess

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of MarketAxess by 421.3% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 22,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,111,000 after acquiring an additional 18,274 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of MarketAxess by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of MarketAxess during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,214,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MarketAxess during the fourth quarter valued at about $631,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of MarketAxess by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 5,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,140,000 after acquiring an additional 383 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.