Ruffer LLP Takes Position in Virtu Financial, Inc. $VIRT

Ruffer LLP bought a new position in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 103,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,665,000. Ruffer LLP owned approximately 0.07% of Virtu Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 129,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,584,000 after acquiring an additional 21,193 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in Virtu Financial by 5.4% during the third quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 40,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,425,000 after purchasing an additional 2,064 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its position in Virtu Financial by 59.8% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 90,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,202,000 after purchasing an additional 33,762 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 239.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 9,468 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $336,000 after buying an additional 6,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 31.2% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 54,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,944,000 after buying an additional 13,020 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VIRT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America upgraded Virtu Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Virtu Financial from $48.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.71.

Virtu Financial Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ VIRT opened at $37.51 on Thursday. Virtu Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.55 and a 1 year high of $45.77. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.94. The company has a market cap of $5.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.84, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.01. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 32.08% and a net margin of 10.43%.The firm had revenue of $467.02 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $422.92 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

About Virtu Financial

Virtu Financial, Inc (NASDAQ: VIRT) is a leading global electronic trading firm specializing in market making, liquidity provision and trade execution services across a broad range of asset classes. Leveraging advanced quantitative models and proprietary trading technology, Virtu provides continuous bid and ask quotes in equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, commodities and digital assets. The firm’s infrastructure is designed to operate at high speeds and low latencies, enabling tight spreads and efficient price discovery for its clients.

In addition to its market-making activities, Virtu offers agency execution services, algorithmic trading strategies and transaction cost analysis tools.