Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Sees Strong Trading Volume Following Analyst Upgrade

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $26.00 to $29.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Approximately 4,416,353 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 239% from the previous session’s volume of 1,301,279 shares.The stock last traded at $31.00 and had previously closed at $30.46.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on VIRT. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 19th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $25.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Virginia Gambale sold 5,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.30, for a total value of $147,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $658,530.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 46.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Virtu Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Quarry LP grew its position in Virtu Financial by 79.9% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Virtu Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Virtu Financial by 21.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 0.8 %

The company’s 50-day moving average is $29.96 and its 200 day moving average is $24.98. The company has a market capitalization of $4.82 billion, a PE ratio of 21.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $385.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $331.92 million. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 22.74%. The firm’s revenue was up 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 1st were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is 67.13%.

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.