MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $193.1250.

Several analysts recently weighed in on MKTX shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on MarketAxess from $204.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on MarketAxess in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded MarketAxess from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays decreased their target price on MarketAxess from $182.00 to $178.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on MarketAxess from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th.

Key MarketAxess News

Here are the key news stories impacting MarketAxess this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MarketAxess reported first-quarter 2026 EPS of $2.25, topping estimates of $2.15, while revenue reached $233.4 million, also above expectations and up 11.9% year over year. MarketAxess Reports First Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: The company highlighted record total revenues and higher commission revenue, suggesting continued strength in its electronic fixed-income trading platform. MarketAxess Reports First Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management and related coverage pointed to international expansion and AI initiatives as additional growth drivers, which could support longer-term revenue gains and platform differentiation. MKTX Q1 deep dive: International expansion and AI initiatives drive revenue growth
• Neutral Sentiment: The board also approved a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share, reinforcing the company’s cash-return profile, though this is unlikely to be the main driver of the stock’s move today.

Institutional Trading of MarketAxess

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new stake in shares of MarketAxess in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 200.0% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of MarketAxess in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new stake in shares of MarketAxess in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Stance Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of MarketAxess in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 99.01% of the company’s stock.

MarketAxess Stock Performance

MKTX opened at $147.53 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 17.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $172.12 and a 200-day moving average of $171.94. MarketAxess has a 52-week low of $145.95 and a 52-week high of $232.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 2.80 and a current ratio of 2.17.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.10. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 22.28% and a net margin of 35.53%.The company had revenue of $233.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $231.91 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.87 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MarketAxess will post 8.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.88%.

About MarketAxess

MarketAxess Holdings Inc operates a leading global electronic trading platform specializing in fixed-income securities and related products. The company’s network enables institutional investors and broker-dealers to trade corporate bonds, municipal securities, emerging markets debt, U.S. Treasuries and credit default swaps in an automated, multi-dealer environment. MarketAxess also offers portfolio trading, data analytics, best-execution tools and post-trade services to streamline workflows and enhance price discovery across its marketplace.

In addition to core voice-like trading protocols, MarketAxess provides Open Trading®, an anonymous, all-to-all trading protocol designed to improve liquidity and transaction efficiency.