Islay Capital Management LLC Acquires 1,342 Shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

Islay Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) by 84.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,342 shares during the period. Islay Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MarketAxess were worth $857,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKTX. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 347.6% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 39.6% in the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 47.3% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of MarketAxess in the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of MarketAxess in the 4th quarter valued at $57,000. 99.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MarketAxess Stock Down 1.4 %

MarketAxess stock traded down $2.94 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $201.16. 126,148 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 414,292. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $214.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $236.38. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $199.34 and a twelve month high of $322.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.56 billion, a PE ratio of 29.80, a PEG ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.98.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $197.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $196.70 million. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 34.29%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.58 EPS. Analysts anticipate that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on MarketAxess in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $199.00 target price for the company. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their target price on MarketAxess from $229.00 to $210.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays lowered their target price on MarketAxess from $239.00 to $236.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on MarketAxess from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of MarketAxess in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $252.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, CRO Kevin M. Mcpherson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.26, for a total value of $442,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now directly owns 70,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,508,555.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.