Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $39.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday. Zacks Research raised shares of Virtu Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Virtu Financial in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Virtu Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.67.

Virtu Financial Trading Down 1.5%

VIRT stock traded down $0.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $65.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,049,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,226,524. Virtu Financial has a 12 month low of $31.55 and a 12 month high of $68.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $56.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.06. The company has a market cap of $10.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.58.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.58. The firm had revenue of $786.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $613.12 million. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 51.63% and a net margin of 14.17%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.30 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Virtu Financial will post 5.7 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Virtu Financial news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total transaction of $1,501,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 42,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,126,198.38. This represents a 41.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 46.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtu Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VIRT. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its position in Virtu Financial by 32.2% during the third quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 275,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,797,000 after buying an additional 67,230 shares during the period. Algebris UK Ltd. bought a new stake in Virtu Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $22,377,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 27.5% in the first quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 516,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,710,000 after acquiring an additional 111,437 shares during the last quarter. Prana Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 323.6% during the 3rd quarter. Prana Capital Management LP now owns 80,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,874,000 after acquiring an additional 61,854 shares during the period. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,489,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

About Virtu Financial

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.