MarketAxess Holdings Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates an electronic trading platform for institutional investor and broker-dealer firms in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally.
FAIL · Does not pass the screen
163.96 USD
Screen close, 2026-09-29 · not a live quote Last reviewed 7 days ago
Screened 2026-09-29 · the tape above runs as of 13:01 UTC · two dates, stated on purpose · verdict and workings shown in full · never trimmed
PRICE · FAIR-VALUE RANGE1M3M6MYTD1Y3Y5Y
What this means: price 163.96 against the desk's fair-value range, base estimate 129.00, over the last year.
Positioning no disclosures inside 60 days, left as found
Options no verdict drawn today, left as found
Ethical does not pass the values gate
Price163.96 USD
Fair value129.00
Ethical score50.0/100
Our investment reviews on this name
2026-09-05Read Accumulation162.46+0.9% to today ✓
2026-08-05Read Markup162.30+1.0% to today ✓
2026-07-02Read Distribution116.93+40.2% to today
Our analytic regime reads on this name, dated and marked against the screened price. Small sample per name, and separate from the daily-framework accuracy on the Track Record page.
MarketAxess Holdings Inc. holds its Accumulation at $163.96. Elevated stress, defensive posture warranted, held for 2 days.
As held on the ledger · 2026-09-29
Phase
Accumulation
Quantitative state
Elevated stress, defensive posture warranted, held for 2 days
Price at the screen
$163.96
Valuation
19.38 trailing · 18.74 forward price to earnings
Values screen
FAIL· score 50.0
Beta
0.83
The Workings
Five Screens, Shown in Full
Does not pass. Prohibited keyword in sector/industry: financial services
Test
Figure
Limit
What it means
Status
Business activity
Excluded
Core business clean
Prohibited keyword in sector/industry: financial services
Fail
Debt load
Excluded
Below 33%
Interest-bearing debt is of its assets, above the one-third ceiling the screen allows.
Fail
Interest-bearing cash
Excluded
Below 33%
Interest-bearing cash and securities are of assets, above the one-third limit.
Fail
Receivables
Excluded
Below 49%
Money owed to the company is of assets, above the 49% limit.
Fail
Revenue purity
Excluded
Below 5%
of revenue comes from non-compliant sources, over the 5% line.
Fail
Five checks adapted from AAOIFI screening standards: business activity plus four balance-sheet ratios. All five must pass for ethical clearance. Every figure is arithmetic on public accounts, not judgement.
The Ethical Read
Why It Falls Short, in Plain English
MarketAxess does not clear the screen at the business-activity stage. It operates in conventional financial services, which the screen treats as interest-based, so the financial ratios are not the deciding factor here.
Read as at 2026-10-04. It updates when the underlying figures move, and past reads are kept below.
Fair value range in USD, drawn from the 2026-09-29 screen. The gold marker is the market price at the same screen. The price runs 21.3% above the base estimate.
Third-party analyst targets: 9 covering, consensus None. The average target sits +2% from the screen price.
Reading the gap · Both our model and the Street see limited upside at this price.
Price History & Projections
Where it has been, where the models see it going. History from market close data; projection points are our fair-value estimates and third-party analyst targets, dated to the 2026-09-29 screen.
Fair value and rating are our own model estimates; the Street's range reflects third-party analyst estimates. Analysis, not advice.
The Business, in Plain Words
Bond trading platform fails our ethical test
When big institutions need to move corporate bonds without shouting down a phone line, MarketAxess supplies the screen that matches buyers and sellers. Revenue grows at 12 percent, margins sit at 36 percent and returns on equity reach 24 percent, yet none of that matters once the ethical screen is applied.
The company lands squarely inside financial services, a sector we rule out on principle. A forward multiple of 13 times and a modest gap to analyst targets change nothing once that filter is triggered.
Sector exposure brings its own cyclical swings in trading volumes and regulatory pressure, but the ethical bar is the binding constraint here. Analysis, not advice.
The risks · The main risks here are ordinary market swings and the chance our fair-value read proves too optimistic.
Plain-English interpretation of our own screen data. Analysis, not advice.
Where & How to Trade
MKTX trades on Nasdaq. As a listed security it is accessible through almost any international broker offering its home market. New to this, or investing from abroad? Our guide to accessing global markets covers brokers, currencies and the practical steps.
The Dated Journal · Newest First, Never Edited
Every Entry, As Written
2026-10-02Accumulation$163.96+0.9%Entry 6
The framework reads accumulation. Smart money appears to be quietly building positions. This typically precedes a markup phase. Price has moved up 0.9% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows negative risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it D, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is sitting below its long-term trend line with momentum reading oversold. Over the past year the shares are down 47%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 10%. The street (11 analysts) rates it buy, with a mean price target of $186.
The framework has shifted from markup to accumulation since the last review. Smart money appears to be quietly building positions. This typically precedes a markup phase. Price has moved up 0.1% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows negative risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it D, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is sitting below its long-term trend line with momentum reading oversold. Over the past year the shares are down 47%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 10%. The street (11 analysts) rates it buy, with a mean price target of $186.
2026-08-05Markup · changed$162.30+38.8%Entry 4
The framework has shifted from distribution to markup since the last review. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Price has moved up 38.8% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows negative risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it D, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is sitting below its long-term trend line with momentum reading oversold. Over the past year the shares are down 47%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 10%. The street (11 analysts) rates it buy, with a mean price target of $186.
2026-07-18Distribution$116.93+0.0%Entry 3
The framework reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows negative risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it D, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is sitting below its long-term trend line with momentum reading oversold. Over the past year the shares are down 47%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 10%. The street (11 analysts) rates it buy, with a mean price target of $186.
2026-07-03Distribution$116.93+0.0%Entry 2
The framework reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows negative risk-adjusted returns.
2026-07-02Distribution$116.93Entry 1
The framework reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows negative risk-adjusted returns.
Each entry above was written on its date, before the outcome. A journal you can prune is not a journal.
