Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) Hits New 12-Month High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• New 52-week high: Virtu's stock reached $50.93 (last $50.77) with heavy volume, giving it a market cap around $7.85 billion, a PE of 9.9, and prices comfortably above its 50‑day ($41.75) and 200‑day ($37.17) moving averages.
• Strong earnings beat: The company reported Q results of $1.85 EPS vs. $1.12 expected and revenue of $969.9M vs. $513.5M expected, with a 48.35% ROE and a 12.9% net margin.
• Mixed market signals: Insiders sold about 270,000 shares (~$10.46M) in recent months even as institutional stakes rose (Invesco, Millennium, Wellington), and analysts' consensus remains an average "Hold" with a $44.43 target.

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $50.93 and last traded at $50.7680, with a volume of 2000726 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $48.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on VIRT shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Virtu Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research raised Virtu Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Virtu Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $44.43.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $7.85 billion, a PE ratio of 9.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a fifty day moving average of $41.75 and a 200-day moving average of $37.17.

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

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors 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 presently 18.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In related news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.61, for a total transaction of $1,128,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 174,561 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,565,239.21. The trade was a 14.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Joseph Molluso sold 200,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total value of $7,776,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 326,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,697,624.80. The trade was a 37.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 270,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,458,644 over the last three months. 46.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VIRT. Invesco Ltd. grew 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 in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 842,247 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 692,643 shares in the last quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $22,377,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $19,102,000. 45.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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