Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $35.15, but opened at $34.30. Virtu Financial shares last traded at $34.87, with a volume of 123,046 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on VIRT shares. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Virtu Financial from $56.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Virtu Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $26.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.21.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.60.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.32. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 9.61% and a return on equity of 27.39%. As a group, research analysts expect that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Virtu Financial news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.88, for a total transaction of $1,253,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 191,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,070,006.64. The trade was a 15.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total value of $2,688,104.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 90,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,343,193.16. This trade represents a 44.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 140,967 shares of company stock worth $5,213,964. Corporate insiders own 46.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC grew its position in Virtu Financial by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 8,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. increased its stake in Virtu Financial by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 30,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,075,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 14,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 19,635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $701,000 after buying an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

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.