Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Virtu Financial (NYSE:VIRT) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.01, Briefing.com reports. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 14.17% and a return on equity of 51.63%. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share.

Here are the key takeaways from Virtu Financial’s conference call:

• Record profitability: Virtu reported second-quarter adjusted EBITDA of $437 million, a 61% margin, and adjusted EPS of $1.82. Trailing-12-month adjusted net trading income, EBITDA, and EPS all reached company records.
• Trading capital expanded significantly to $3.4 billion from $2 billion a year ago, supported by retained earnings and a $500 million term-loan increase. Management said the capital is being actively deployed across attractive market opportunities while maintaining the $0.24 quarterly dividend.
• Virtu said its growth investments in technology, compute, infrastructure, and talent are progressing, with hiring focused broadly on quants, researchers, traders, engineers, and developers. Management highlighted multi-year-low attrition and expects aggressive hiring to continue for at least the next couple of years.
• The company described opportunity as broad-based, with global equities, retail, proprietary trading, crypto, options, block ETFs, and Execution Services contributing to performance. Management also said it is prepared to support emerging products such as regulated perpetual futures as they become more liquid and tradable.
• Cash compensation was 23% of revenue year to date, within the company’s targeted low-to-mid-20% range, while total compensation was 28%. Executives said compensation may remain elevated as Virtu invests in talent, but emphasized that the current level is consistent with guidance.

Virtu Financial Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Virtu Financial stock traded up $0.32 on Thursday, reaching $58.25. The company had a trading volume of 582,465 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,264,758. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $57.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.48. Virtu Financial has a 52-week low of $31.55 and a 52-week high of $68.02. The firm has a market cap of $9.03 billion, a PE ratio of 9.67, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.58.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on VIRT. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Virtu Financial from $61.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $39.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Virtu Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Virtu Financial from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virtu Financial

In related news, COO Brett Fairclough sold 30,000 shares of Virtu Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total value of $1,501,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 42,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,126,198.38. This trade represents a 41.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 46.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtu Financial

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 926,376 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 290.3% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,132,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,730,000 after purchasing an additional 842,247 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 565.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 815,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,161,000 after acquiring an additional 692,643 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Virtu Financial in the third quarter worth $19,102,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 53.1% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,367,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,549,000 after acquiring an additional 474,177 shares during the period. 45.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.