Virtusa (NASDAQ:VRTU) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a report issued on Saturday, Zacks.com reports.
According to Zacks, "Virtusa Corporation is a global provider of information technology (IT) consulting and outsourcing services that accelerate business outcomes for Global 2000 companies and leading software vendors in banking and financial services, insurance, healthcare, telecommunications, technology, and media & entertainment. The company also provides technology implementation services, such as application development, software product engineering. In addition, it offers application outsourcing services, such as the application maintenance and support, maintenance and enhancement of applications, and cloud-environment management and support; managed infrastructure services, and remote application monitoring and support; Virtusa delivers services across the IT lifecycle, including consulting, solution design, technology selection, implementation, testing, and maintenance, including infrastructure support. The company was formerly known as eRunway, Inc. and changed its name to Virtusa Corporation. "
Several other research firms also recently weighed in on VRTU. Rosenblatt Securities downgraded shares of Virtusa from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. William Blair cut shares of Virtusa from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Virtusa in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wedbush decreased their price target on Virtusa from $60.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $38.00 price objective on shares of Virtusa in a report on Thursday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $40.67.
VRTU stock traded up $0.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $32.01. 591,174 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 250,885. Virtusa has a 1 year low of $19.48 and a 1 year high of $52.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $960.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $31.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.70, a quick ratio of 2.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.
Virtusa (NASDAQ:VRTU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The information technology services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters' consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.15). Virtusa had a return on equity of 14.38% and a net margin of 3.65%. The company had revenue of $329.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $329.97 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Virtusa will post 1.35 EPS for the current year.
In related news, insider Samir Dhir sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.10, for a total transaction of $128,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 127,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,097,308.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Virtusa during the 4th quarter worth $17,468,000. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Virtusa by 210.0% during the first quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 443,075 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $12,584,000 after acquiring an additional 300,146 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Virtusa by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 532,769 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $24,150,000 after purchasing an additional 200,700 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Virtusa by 23.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 644,978 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $18,316,000 after purchasing an additional 123,964 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Virtusa in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,173,000. 88.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About Virtusa
Virtusa Corporation provides digital engineering and information technology (IT) outsourcing services worldwide. The company offers business and IT consulting services, including advisory/target operating model, business process re-engineering/business management, transformational solution consulting, and business/technology alignment analysis; omni-channel digital strategy, experience design accelerated solution design, and employee engagement; and application portfolio rationalization, SDLC transformation, and BA competency transformation services.
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