Q1 EPS Estimates for Virtu Financial Lifted by Analyst

Key Points

• Zacks Research raised its Q1 2026 EPS estimate for Virtu to $1.08 (from $1.07) and carries a "Strong-Buy" rating, while forecasting $0.98 for Q2 and $4.22 for FY2027.
• Virtu beat expectations last quarter with $1.85 EPS vs. a $1.12 consensus and revenue of $969.9M vs. $513.5M, posting a 12.9% net margin and 48.35% return on equity.
• Analyst views are mixed — the consensus rating is "Hold" with a $44 average target despite several target upgrades — and insiders have sold about 270,000 shares (~$10.46M) in the past 90 days.

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Zacks Research boosted their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Virtu Financial in a report released on Thursday, April 9th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the company will earn $1.08 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.07. Zacks Research has a "Strong-Buy" rating on the stock. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Virtu Financial's Q2 2026 earnings at $0.98 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $4.22 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Virtu Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $44.00.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

NYSE:VIRT opened at $49.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $7.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $41.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.94. Virtu Financial has a 1-year low of $31.55 and a 1-year high of $49.73.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.73. The firm had revenue of $969.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $513.51 million. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 48.35%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. Virtu Financial's payout ratio is 18.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 28,370 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.94, for a total transaction of $1,104,727.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 116,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,524,477.54. The trade was a 19.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Joseph Molluso sold 200,000 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total transaction of $7,776,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 326,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,697,624.80. This trade represents a 37.98% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 270,000 shares of company stock worth $10,458,644. 47.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIRT. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 64.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,370,400 shares of the company's stock worth $84,149,000 after purchasing an additional 926,376 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 290.3% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,132,346 shares of the company's stock worth $37,730,000 after purchasing an additional 842,247 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 565.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 815,143 shares of the company's stock worth $27,161,000 after purchasing an additional 692,643 shares during the last quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter worth $22,377,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $19,102,000. 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.

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