Co-founder of Virtu Financial Douglas Cifu Buys 5.1% More Shares
Those following along with Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) will no doubt be intrigued by the recent purchase of shares by Douglas Cifu, Co-founder of the company, who spent a stonking US$810k on stock at an average price of US$16.21. There's no denying a buy of that magnitude suggests conviction in a brighter future, although we do note that proportionally it only increased their holding by 5.1%.
View our latest analysis for Virtu Financial
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Virtu Financial
The Co-President & Co-COO, Brett Fairclough, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$970k worth of shares at a price of US$19.39 each. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$16.64. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it. Brett Fairclough was the only individual insider to sell over the last year.
In the last twelve months insiders purchased 165.00k shares for US$2.8m. But insiders sold 50.00k shares worth US$970k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Virtu Financial insiders. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
Virtu Financial is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.
Does Virtu Financial Boast High Insider Ownership?
I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that Virtu Financial insiders own 2.6% of the company, worth about US$43m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.
So What Does This Data Suggest About Virtu Financial Insiders?
It is good to see the recent insider purchase. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of Virtu Financial we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Virtu Financial. While conducting our analysis, we found that Virtu Financial has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore these.
If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.
For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
