Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) Trading Up 4.8% on Analyst Upgrade

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT)’s share price traded up 4.8% during mid-day trading on Friday after Piper Sandler raised their price target on the stock from $57.00 to $61.00. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Virtu Financial traded as high as $41.48 and last traded at $41.4760. 348,890 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 1,175,240 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.58.

VIRT has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Virtu Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Virtu Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.00.

Insider Transactions at Virtu Financial

In other news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.61, for a total value of $1,128,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 174,561 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,565,239.21. The trade was a 14.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Joseph Molluso sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total transaction of $7,776,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 326,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,697,624.80. The trade was a 37.98% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 270,000 shares of company stock worth $10,458,644 in the last three months. Insiders own 47.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Virtu Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 3,460.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 712 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 258.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 713 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Virtu Financial by 103.8% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Virtu Financial by 480.6% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Virtu Financial by 51.9% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $6.43 billion, a PE ratio of 8.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.18.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.73. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 48.35%. The business had revenue of $969.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $513.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.71%.

Virtu Financial Company Profile

Virtu Financial, Inc is a technology-driven electronic trading firm and market maker that provides liquidity and price discovery across a wide range of financial instruments. Leveraging advanced analytics, high-performance computing and proprietary algorithms, Virtu operates in equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, commodities and derivative products. Its technology platform is designed to capture bid-ask spreads in real time, manage risk through automated controls and adapt to changing market conditions.

The company offers a suite of execution services and market-making solutions to institutional clients such as asset managers, banks, broker-dealers and hedge funds.