Piper Sandler Boosts Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Price Target to $25.00

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler from $21.00 to $25.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Piper Sandler's price target would suggest a potential upside of 21.24% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Virtu Financial from $21.00 to $22.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. StockNews.com raised Virtu Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Virtu Financial from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Virtu Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.75.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 2.3 %

VIRT stock traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.62. The stock had a trading volume of 957,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,087,236. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Virtu Financial has a 1-year low of $16.02 and a 1-year high of $21.58. The company has a fifty day moving average of $18.75 and a 200 day moving average of $18.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.73, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.40.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.13). Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 6.22%. The firm had revenue of $535.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.96 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Virtu Financial will post 1.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, CEO Douglas A. Cifu bought 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $16.21 per share, for a total transaction of $810,500.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 584,132 shares in the company, valued at $9,468,779.72. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 44.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Virtu Financial

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Harbour Investments Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 236.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,581 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,111 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 123.8% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,596 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 8,400.0% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,680 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company's stock.

About Virtu Financial

Virtu Financial, Inc operates as a financial services company in the United States, Asia Pacific, Canada, EMEA, Ireland, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Market Making and Execution Services. Its product includes offerings in execution, liquidity sourcing, analytics and broker-neutral, capital markets, and multi-dealer platforms in workflow technology.