Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $52.26 and last traded at $52.3470, with a volume of 215794 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $51.85.

Key Stories Impacting Virtu Financial

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised multiple earnings estimates for Virtu Financial, including FY2026, FY2027, and several quarterly periods, while keeping a Strong-Buy rating on the stock. Higher profit forecasts can boost investor confidence. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company was featured in Zacks Focus List coverage as a top long-term idea, reinforcing the view that Virtu Financial may have durable earnings power and attractive fundamentals.
• Neutral Sentiment: Virtu Financial also rang the Nasdaq opening bell, which is a visibility/branding event rather than a direct operating catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary from GuruFocus suggested the stock may be overvalued after a sharp rally, which could temper enthusiasm, but it does not change the broader bullish analyst tone. Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VIRT. Zacks Research raised Virtu Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Virtu Financial from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Virtu Financial from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Virtu Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Virtu Financial from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Virtu Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.67.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $8.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.04, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.65.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.58. The business had revenue of $786.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $613.12 million. Virtu Financial had a return on equity of 51.63% and a net margin of 14.17%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.30 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Virtu Financial’s payout ratio is currently 15.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Virtu Financial news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 30,000 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 42,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,126,198.38. The trade was a 41.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 28,370 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.94, for a total value of $1,104,727.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 116,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,524,477.54. This represents a 19.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 258,370 shares of company stock valued at $10,382,528. 46.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virtu Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VIRT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,999,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,987,000 after purchasing an additional 142,890 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 64.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,370,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,149,000 after purchasing an additional 926,376 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 41.9% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,928,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,607,000 after purchasing an additional 569,057 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,920,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,458,000 after purchasing an additional 19,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,395,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,514,000 after purchasing an additional 14,113 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

About Virtu Financial

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.