Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.01, Briefing.com reports. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 51.63% and a net margin of 14.17%.The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.65 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Virtu Financial’s conference call:

• Record profitability: Virtu reported second-quarter adjusted EBITDA of $437 million, a 61% margin, and adjusted EPS of $1.82. Trailing-12-month adjusted net trading income, EBITDA, and EPS all reached company records.
• Trading capital expanded significantly to $3.4 billion from $2 billion a year ago, supported by retained earnings and a $500 million term-loan increase. Management said the capital is being actively deployed across attractive market opportunities while maintaining the $0.24 quarterly dividend.
• Virtu said its growth investments in technology, compute, infrastructure, and talent are progressing, with hiring focused broadly on quants, researchers, traders, engineers, and developers. Management highlighted multi-year-low attrition and expects aggressive hiring to continue for at least the next couple of years.
• The company described opportunity as broad-based, with global equities, retail, proprietary trading, crypto, options, block ETFs, and Execution Services contributing to performance. Management also said it is prepared to support emerging products such as regulated perpetual futures as they become more liquid and tradable.
• Cash compensation was 23% of revenue year to date, within the company’s targeted low-to-mid-20% range, while total compensation was 28%. Executives said compensation may remain elevated as Virtu invests in talent, but emphasized that the current level is consistent with guidance.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

Shares of VIRT traded up $0.61 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $58.54. The stock had a trading volume of 623,299 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,265,227. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Virtu Financial has a fifty-two week low of $31.55 and a fifty-two week high of $68.02. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.50. The company has a market cap of $9.08 billion, a PE ratio of 9.69, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.58.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VIRT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Virtu Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Zacks Research cut Virtu Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $61.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $39.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.50.

Insider Transactions at Virtu Financial

In other Virtu Financial news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total value of $1,501,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 42,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,126,198.38. This trade represents a 41.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 46.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VIRT. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Virtu Financial by 1,624.1% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the first quarter valued at $222,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the first quarter worth about $1,934,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 13.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 226,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,624,000 after purchasing an additional 26,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning acquired a new position in Virtu Financial during the second quarter valued at $235,000. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

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.