Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) Stock Dropped to "Hold" by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Virtu Financial from “strong buy” to “hold,” contributing to an overall analyst consensus of “hold” with an average price target of $58.80.
• Virtu reported quarterly EPS of $1.82 on revenue of $984.69 million, with analysts forecasting full-year EPS of $6.38.
• Two directors sold a combined 17,494 shares for approximately $1.06 million, while institutional investors—including Allspring and Stephens Investment Management—recently increased their holdings.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Zacks reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Virtu Financial from $39.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Virtu Financial from $61.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Virtu Financial in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $58.80.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VIRT opened at $53.46 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $8.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $59.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Virtu Financial has a 12 month low of $31.55 and a 12 month high of $68.76.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 49.06% and a net margin of 13.50%.The company had revenue of $984.69 million for the quarter. Virtu Financial has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.820-1.820 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial will post 6.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John Nixon sold 9,094 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were 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 $1,858,137.26. The trade was a 22.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph J. Grano, Jr. sold 8,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $511,896.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 33,814 shares in the company, valued at $2,060,625.16. This trade represents a 19.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 46.76% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VIRT. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the second quarter valued at $1,792,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised 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 buying an additional 569,057 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its position in Virtu Financial by 27.5% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 516,366 shares of the company's stock worth $22,710,000 after buying an additional 111,437 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Virtu Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,001,000. Finally, Collar Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,798,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.78% of the company's stock.

Virtu Financial Company Profile

Virtu Financial, Inc is a global financial services company that provides liquidity and execution services across the financial markets. Through its market-making operations, the company quotes buy and sell prices and facilitates trading in a range of securities, including equities, exchange-traded funds, options, futures, foreign exchange and fixed-income products.

Virtu also provides technology-enabled execution and workflow solutions to institutions, brokers, and other market participants.

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