Source: Liquidnet
Liquidnet, the #1 electronic marketplace for block trading, announced its first quarter 2005 results today.
During the quarter, Liquidnet extended its dominance in block(1) volume in names it traded across all capitalizations. Liquidnet Member firms traded 100 percent of the block volume for the day in nearly one out of every six names they executed through Liquidnet during the quarter. Additionally, Liquidnet Members represented 100 percent of the block volume in small cap names 30 percent of the time. In the first quarter, Liquidnet accounted for 58 percent of the block volume for the day on average for small-cap names its Members executed and 41 percent of the block volume for the day on average for every name its Members executed.
"Liquidnet has emerged as the only trading venue to go to if you want to get size done while maintaining anonymity without moving the market," said Seth Merrin, CEO of Liquidnet. "As Liquidnet's volume increases, our Members are executing a growing percentage of the total block volume in the markets. The Liquidnet community is continuing to benefit from the network effect where each new Member adds to the liquidity and the opportunities available to all other Members."
For the first quarter, Liquidnet's average daily volume for U.S. equity trades hit a record 27.5 million shares, a 20 percent increase over the last quarter and a 60 percent increase from the first quarter a year ago. Earlier this month, Liquidnet climbed the ranks as one of the largest institutional brokers in the country. In its most recent analysis, Plexus Group ranked Liquidnet as the 11th largest institutional broker for NASDAQ trades and the 13th largest institutional broker for NYSE trades. Previously, Liquidnet had been ranked as the 15th and 14th largest broker, respectively. The ranking is based on total principal traded for four consecutive quarters and includes a universe of more than 1,500 brokers.
Liquidnet Europe's Principal Traded Rises Almost 60 Percent Over the Last Quarter Liquidnet Europe's principal traded surged to 1.6 billion pounds - a 59.7 percent increase over the fourth quarter of 2004 and a 130 percent increase over the first quarter of last year. Average bargain value per trade for Liquidnet Europe in the first quarter of 2005 was 720,532 pounds - a 20.7 percent increase from the fourth quarter of 2004 and a 46 percent increase over the same quarter one year ago. In less than three months since joining the London Stock Exchange, Liquidnet Europe, in operation only two and a half years, is now ranked as the 26th largest agency brokerage firm out of approximately 200 for U.K. equity trades according to the LSE.