Morgan Stanley Boosts Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Price Target to $36.00

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) had its price objective hoisted by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $35.00 to $36.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “underweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective suggests a potential downside of 3.05% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Virtu Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Virtu Financial from $48.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.71.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VIRT opened at $37.13 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.58. Virtu Financial has a 1-year low of $31.55 and a 1-year high of $45.77. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $467.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $422.92 million. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 32.08% and a net margin of 10.43%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Virtu Financial will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 122.3% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,094 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in Virtu Financial by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 68,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,265,000 after purchasing an additional 859 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Virtu Financial by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 567 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter worth $69,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. 45.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Virtu Financial Company Profile

Virtu Financial, Inc (NASDAQ: VIRT) is a leading global electronic trading firm specializing in market making, liquidity provision and trade execution services across a broad range of asset classes. Leveraging advanced quantitative models and proprietary trading technology, Virtu provides continuous bid and ask quotes in equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, commodities and digital assets. The firm’s infrastructure is designed to operate at high speeds and low latencies, enabling tight spreads and efficient price discovery for its clients.

In addition to its market-making activities, Virtu offers agency execution services, algorithmic trading strategies and transaction cost analysis tools.