Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) PT Raised to $24.50 at Citigroup

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) had its target price boosted by research analysts at Citigroup from $22.50 to $24.50 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Citigroup’s target price indicates a potential upside of 11.26% from the stock’s previous close.

VIRT has been the topic of several other research reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded Virtu Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Virtu Financial from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Virtu Financial from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.24.

Virtu Financial Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ VIRT opened at $22.02 on Thursday. Virtu Financial has a one year low of $16.02 and a one year high of $22.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.40.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.13). Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 17.14% and a net margin of 6.04%. The firm had revenue of $535.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $272.96 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Virtu Financial will post 1.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Virtu Financial news, CEO Douglas A. Cifu purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.21 per share, with a total value of $810,500.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 584,132 shares in the company, valued at $9,468,779.72. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 44.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIRT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Virtu Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,575,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 8,347,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $144,158,000 after acquiring an additional 588,749 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 156.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 801,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,834,000 after acquiring an additional 489,264 shares in the last quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. raised its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 913.6% during the 4th quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 306,289 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,205,000 after acquiring an additional 276,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Virtu Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,294,000. 45.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Virtu Financial Company Profile

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.