Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Virtu Financial Call Options (NYSE:VIRT)

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 2,123 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 288% compared to the typical volume of 547 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VIRT. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $61.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Zacks Research cut shares of Virtu Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Virtu Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Virtu Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John Nixon sold 9,094 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.13, for a total value of $546,822.22. Following the transaction, the director owned 30,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,137.26. This trade represents a 22.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 46.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in 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 during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Virtu Financial by 290.3% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,132,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,730,000 after purchasing an additional 842,247 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Virtu Financial by 565.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 815,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,161,000 after buying an additional 692,643 shares during the last quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. acquired a new position in Virtu Financial during the fourth quarter worth $22,377,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 41.9% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,928,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,607,000 after buying an additional 569,057 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Stock Down 3.9%

VIRT traded down $2.36 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $57.62. The company had a trading volume of 1,221,086 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,270,187. Virtu Financial has a 52 week low of $31.55 and a 52 week high of $68.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $8.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.57, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $59.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.77.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $984.69 million for the quarter. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 13.50% and a return on equity of 49.06%. Virtu Financial has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.820-1.820 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.95%.

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.