Rosenblatt Securities started coverage on shares of MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) in a report released on Thursday. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating and a $190.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Rosenblatt Securities’ target price points to a potential downside of 3.18% from the company’s previous close.
Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Zacks Investment Research raised MarketAxess from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 23rd. BidaskClub downgraded MarketAxess from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. MarketAxess has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.00.
MarketAxess (MKTX) opened at $196.25 on Thursday. MarketAxess has a twelve month low of $145.10 and a twelve month high of $211.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $7,402.66, a P/E ratio of 50.70 and a beta of 0.69.
MarketAxess declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, October 25th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
In related news, Director Stephen P. Casper sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.84, for a total value of $391,680.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John Steinhardt sold 4,225 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.00, for a total value of $735,150.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 50,225 shares of company stock valued at $8,955,630. Corporate insiders own 4.02% of the company’s stock.
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MKTX. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in MarketAxess by 178.5% in the 2nd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 807,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $162,306,000 after purchasing an additional 517,309 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in MarketAxess by 503.9% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 192,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,547,000 after purchasing an additional 160,755 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in MarketAxess in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,252,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in MarketAxess by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 2,752,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $553,618,000 after purchasing an additional 134,588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in MarketAxess by 36.7% in the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 491,713 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $98,883,000 after purchasing an additional 131,911 shares during the last quarter. 92.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
COPYRIGHT VIOLATION WARNING: “MarketAxess (MKTX) Coverage Initiated at Rosenblatt Securities” was first posted by American Banking and Market News and is the property of of American Banking and Market News. If you are accessing this story on another publication, it was illegally copied and reposted in violation of US and international trademark & copyright law. The legal version of this story can be read at https://www.americanbankingnews.com/2017/12/14/marketaxess-mktx-coverage-initiated-at-rosenblatt-securities.html.
MarketAxess Company Profile
MarketAxess Holdings Inc operates an electronic trading platform that enables fixed-income market participants to trade corporate bonds and other types of fixed-income instruments using its trading technology. Institutional investor and broker-dealer firms are users of trading platform, accessing global liquidity in the United States corporate bonds, emerging markets and high-yield bonds, European bonds, the United States agency bonds, municipal bonds, credit default swaps and other fixed-income securities.
