MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) has experienced an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds lately.
To the average investor, there are a multitude of indicators market participants can use to track Mr. Market. Some of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite investment managers can outpace their index-focused peers by a very impressive margin (see just how much).
Just as integral, bullish insider trading activity is another way to parse down the marketplace. There are plenty of incentives for a corporate insider to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this tactic if piggybackers understand what to do (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a glance at the key action regarding MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX).
Hedge fund activity in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 7 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 17% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes substantially.
According to our comprehensive database, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw had the largest position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX), worth close to $14.1 million, accounting for less than 0.1%% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Jim Simons of Renaissance Technologies, with a $9 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other peers that are bullish include Richard Driehaus’s Driehaus Capital, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.
As aggregate interest increased, key hedge funds have jumped into MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) headfirst. Driehaus Capital, managed by Richard Driehaus, created the largest position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX). Driehaus Capital had 6.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors also initiated a $0.3 million position during the quarter.
What have insiders been doing with MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last half-year time frame, MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 3 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX). These stocks are LPL Financial Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:LPLA), Piper Jaffray Companies (NYSE:PJC), E TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:ETFC), BGC Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:BGCP), and Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBKR). All of these stocks are in the investment brokerage – national industry and their market caps are closest to MKTX’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| LPL Financial Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:LPLA) | 12 | 0 | 4 |
| Piper Jaffray Companies (NYSE:PJC) | 10 | 0 | 4 |
| E TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:ETFC) | 30 | 0 | 1 |
| BGC Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:BGCP) | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBKR) | 11 | 0 | 3 |
With the results shown by Insider Monkey’s studies, retail investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
