Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) Stock Price

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) had its price target decreased by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $57.00 to $56.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 3.25% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Virtu Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $84.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Virtu Financial in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Virtu Financial in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Evercore raised shares of Virtu Financial to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.60.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

NYSE:VIRT opened at $57.88 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $59.67 and a 200-day moving average of $55.96. The company has a market capitalization of $8.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.61, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.65. Virtu Financial has a 52 week low of $31.55 and a 52 week high of $68.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.45.

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 13.50% and a return on equity of 49.06%. The firm had revenue of $984.69 million during the quarter. Virtu Financial has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.820-1.820 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Virtu Financial will post 6.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In other news, Director John Nixon sold 9,094 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 30,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,137.26. This trade represents a 22.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joseph J. Grano, Jr. sold 8,400 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.94, for a total value of $511,896.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 33,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,060,625.16. This represents a 19.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 46.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised 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 worth $85,607,000 after acquiring an additional 569,057 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 1.0% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 39.8% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 782,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,591,000 after purchasing an additional 222,859 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 115.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 672,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,572,000 after buying an additional 360,288 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Virtu Financial by 0.7% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 628,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,650,000 after purchasing an additional 4,183 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

Virtu Financial Company Profile

Virtu Financial, Inc is a global financial services company that provides liquidity and execution services to the financial markets. Through its market-making business, the company buys and sells securities across a range of asset classes, including equities, exchange-traded funds, options, fixed income, foreign exchange and commodities. Its activities help facilitate trading for investors and other market participants.

Virtu also provides institutional clients with technology, trading tools, analytics and workflow solutions through its execution services business.