Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Stock Rating Lowered by Morgan Stanley

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $26.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target would indicate a potential downside of 29.79% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $56.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Virtu Financial has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.21.

Virtu Financial Stock Performance

Shares of VIRT traded up $1.49 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $37.03. 989,920 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,183,522. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $36.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.71. Virtu Financial has a twelve month low of $20.30 and a twelve month high of $41.38. The company has a market cap of $5.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.47, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.32. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 9.61% and a return on equity of 27.39%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Virtu Financial will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Stephen Cavoli sold 34,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.41, for a total value of $1,271,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 157,703 shares in the company, valued at $5,899,669.23. This trade represents a 17.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brett Fairclough sold 72,967 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total value of $2,688,104.28. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 90,749 shares in the company, 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 three months, insiders sold 140,967 shares of company stock worth $5,213,964. 46.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtu Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIRT. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,081,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Virtu Financial by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 391,548 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,970,000 after purchasing an additional 5,371 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Virtu Financial by 60.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,486 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,691,000 after acquiring an additional 20,843 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Virtu Financial by 48.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 358,065 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,907,000 after purchasing an additional 117,062 shares during the period. Finally, Moody Aldrich Partners LLC increased its stake in Virtu Financial by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 310,751 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,088,000 after acquiring an additional 55,102 shares during the last quarter. 45.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.