Wall Street Zen Upgrades Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) to “Buy”

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Virtu Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.43.

Virtu Financial Stock Down 2.2%

VIRT stock opened at $48.55 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $41.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.04. Virtu Financial has a 12 month low of $31.55 and a 12 month high of $49.73. The company has a market cap of $7.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.73. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 48.35%. The firm had revenue of $969.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $513.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. Virtu Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Virtu Financial news, COO Joseph Molluso sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total transaction of $7,776,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 326,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,697,624.80. This represents a 37.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.61, for a total transaction of $1,128,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 174,561 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,565,239.21. The trade was a 14.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 270,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,458,644. 47.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VIRT. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 1,624.1% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 942 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the 1st quarter worth $222,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the 1st quarter worth $1,934,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 226,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,624,000 after purchasing an additional 26,743 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $235,000. 45.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Virtu Financial News

Here are the key news stories impacting Virtu Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded VIRT to a “Strong Buy” and raised Q1/Q2/FY2027 EPS estimates, signaling higher near-term earnings expectations that support the stock. Zacks Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks and other Zacks pieces have also highlighted VIRT as a momentum pick and added it to “Strong Buy” / momentum lists, which can attract flow from momentum and quant strategies. Zacks Momentum List
• Positive Sentiment: Industry research and commentary (InsiderMonkey citing Piper Sandler) expect a strong quarter and record volumes, and Piper Sandler raised its PT to $61 and reiterated an Overweight rating — a bullish signal for upside if volumes materialize. InsiderMonkey / Piper Sandler
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage pieces note Virtu among the most profitable stocks and highlight strong profitability metrics, supporting longer-term confidence in the business model. Most Profitable Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: General momentum commentary and multiple Zacks write-ups increase visibility and may boost short-term trading interest, but do not guarantee sustained moves absent confirming results. Zacks Momentum Feature
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $39 but kept an “underweight” rating — that PT implies material downside versus the current market level and likely pressured the stock intraday as a large-bank negative view. Benzinga on Morgan Stanley Note

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.