Short Interest in Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT) Decreases By 13.3%

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE:VIRT) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 3,184,378 shares, a drop of 13.3% from the February 26th total of 3,671,875 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,002,147 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days. Currently, 3.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.61, for a total value of $1,128,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Joseph Molluso sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.88, for a total value of $7,776,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 326,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,697,624.80. This represents a 37.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 270,000 shares of company stock worth $10,458,644. Company insiders own 47.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Virtu Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its position in Virtu Financial by 3,460.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 258.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 713 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Virtu Financial by 103.8% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Virtu Financial by 480.6% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Virtu Financial by 51.9% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 972 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VIRT shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Virtu Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research cut Virtu Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Virtu Financial from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.00.

Virtu Financial Price Performance

Shares of VIRT stock opened at $44.39 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $40.23 and its 200 day moving average is $36.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.65, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.61. Virtu Financial has a twelve month low of $31.55 and a twelve month high of $45.77.

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

Virtu Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.71%.

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.