Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) Sets New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Virtu Financial hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $60.70 after closing previously at $58.70, signaling strong recent momentum in the stock.
• The company’s latest quarterly results were well above expectations, with EPS of $2.24 versus the $1.66 consensus and revenue of $786.53 million versus $613.12 million expected.
• Analyst views are mixed despite the rally: the stock has a Moderate Buy average rating, but the average price target of $48.67 sits below the current share price, and one analyst recently downgraded it to Hold.

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $60.70 and last traded at $60.3820, with a volume of 1042290 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $58.70.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on VIRT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Friday, May 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Virtu Financial from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Virtu Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Virtu Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $48.67.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $9.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.00, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $51.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.81.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.58. The company had revenue of $786.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $613.12 million. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 51.63% and a net margin of 14.17%.Virtu Financial's revenue was up 30.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Virtu Financial's payout ratio is currently 15.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total transaction of $1,501,800.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 42,473 shares in the company, valued at $2,126,198.38. The trade was a 41.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 46.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtu Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Virtu Financial by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,999,628 shares of the company's stock worth $354,987,000 after acquiring an additional 142,890 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 926,376 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Virtu Financial by 41.9% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,928,509 shares of the company's stock worth $85,607,000 after acquiring an additional 569,057 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Virtu Financial by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,920,590 shares of the company's stock worth $84,458,000 after acquiring an additional 19,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,395,686 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,514,000 after buying an additional 14,113 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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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