NEW YORK, February 14 (FinanceEnquiry.com) - Analyst Kenneth Leon of S&P Capital IQ upgrades Knight Capital Group (NYSE: KCG) from HOLD to STRONG BUY. The target price has been raised from $15 to $16.

In a research note published this morning, the analyst mentions that the company is expected to benefit from the strong pickup of year to date trading volumes seen from its peers. Knight Capital is a market leader in market access and trading execution. The analyst expects Knight Capital’s revenues for trading and principal transactions to grow 12% this year, given the expectations of an improvement in capital markets. Given the positive outlook, S&P Capital IQ’s 2012 EPS estimate is at $1.55 and 2013's $1.85 are both 10% above the Capital IQ consensus.