Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Makes New Investment in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $54,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MKTX. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in MarketAxess during the second quarter worth $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in MarketAxess by 2,428.6% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in MarketAxess by 405.1% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 47.4% in the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 99.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MarketAxess Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of MarketAxess stock opened at $288.89 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $10.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.42, a PEG ratio of 7.24 and a beta of 1.08. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $192.42 and a one year high of $297.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.91 and a quick ratio of 2.91. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $258.85 and its 200 day moving average is $227.27.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $198.07 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.16 EPS for the current year.

MarketAxess announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, August 6th that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 2.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at MarketAxess

In related news, insider Christophe Pierre Danie Roupie sold 617 shares of MarketAxess stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.63, for a total transaction of $142,915.71. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,716,146.67. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MKTX. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on MarketAxess from $237.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup upped their target price on MarketAxess from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on MarketAxess from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded MarketAxess from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.30.

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.