Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) Given New $56.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley lowered Virtu Financial’s price target to $56 from $57 and maintained an “underweight” rating, implying about 3.25% downside from the stock’s $57.88 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average price target of $63.60, despite ratings ranging from sell to overweight.
• Virtu reported quarterly EPS of $1.82 on $984.69 million in revenue, while two directors recently sold shares; insiders own 46.76% and institutional investors hold 45.78% of the company.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT - Get Free Report) had its price target cut by Morgan Stanley from $57.00 to $56.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "underweight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective points to a potential downside of 3.25% from the stock's current price.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on VIRT. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Zacks Research cut shares of Virtu Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Evercore upgraded shares of Virtu Financial to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.60.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

Shares of VIRT opened at $57.88 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.65. Virtu Financial has a fifty-two week low of $31.55 and a fifty-two week high of $68.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The business's 50-day moving average is $59.67 and its 200-day moving average is $55.96.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 13.50% and a return on equity of 49.06%. The business had revenue of $984.69 million during the quarter. Virtu Financial has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.820-1.820 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Virtu Financial will post 6.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Virtu Financial

In related news, Director Joseph Grano, Jr. sold 8,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total transaction of $511,896.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,814 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,060,625.16. The trade was a 19.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Nixon sold 9,094 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.13, for a total value of $546,822.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 30,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,137.26. This represents a 22.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 46.76% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VIRT. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Virtu Financial by 41.9% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,928,509 shares of the company's stock worth $85,607,000 after purchasing an additional 569,057 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 1.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,920,590 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,458,000 after buying an additional 19,888 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Virtu Financial by 39.8% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 782,114 shares of the company's stock worth $46,591,000 after buying an additional 222,859 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Virtu Financial by 115.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 672,405 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,572,000 after acquiring an additional 360,288 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Virtu Financial by 0.7% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 628,693 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,650,000 after acquiring an additional 4,183 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company's stock.

About Virtu Financial

Virtu Financial, Inc is a global financial services company that provides liquidity and execution services to the financial markets. Through its market-making business, the company buys and sells securities across a range of asset classes, including equities, exchange-traded funds, options, fixed income, foreign exchange and commodities. Its activities help facilitate trading for investors and other market participants.

Virtu also provides institutional clients with technology, trading tools, analytics and workflow solutions through its execution services business.

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