Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $59.57, but opened at $63.06. Virtu Financial shares last traded at $61.6350, with a volume of 58,944 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on VIRT. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Virtu Financial in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Virtu Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Virtu Financial from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, three 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 “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.67.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.47. The company has a market capitalization of $9.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.48.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.58. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 14.17% and a return on equity of 51.63%. The business had revenue of $786.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $613.12 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is currently 15.89%.

Insider Transactions at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This represents a 41.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 46.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtu Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VIRT. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 480.6% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Virtu Financial by 103.8% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 760 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management increased its stake in Virtu Financial by 93.7% during the third quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management now owns 978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Virtu Financial by 51.9% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the third quarter worth $35,000. 45.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Virtu Financial Company Profile

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.