Virtu Financial price target raised to $25 from $21 at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler analyst Patrick Moley raised the firm’s price target on Virtu Financial to $25 from $21 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The analyst says the “risk on environment” generally benefited the exchanges, trading companies online brokers in Q1. The firm expects the U.S. exchanges to report strong Q1 results, driven by an improved trading environment for both cash equities and derivative products. Continued rate uncertainty produced another strong quarter for fixed income volumes and should drive strong results for the electronic fixed income trading platforms and inter-dealer brokers, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Meanwhile, the January approval and launch of 11 spot bitcoin exchanged traded funds drove crypto prices higher in Q1 and seemed to play a role in bringing retail back into the market. This should drive strong Q1 results for crypto exchanges and brokers, says Piper.