Positioning no disclosures inside 60 days, left as found
Options put/call open interest 4.54, read 2026-11-02
Ethical does not pass the values gate
Price53.95 USD
Fair value84.00
Ethical score30.0/100
Value readUndervaluedas of 5 Nov 2026
Our investment reviews on this name
2026-11-05Read Markdown53.03+1.7% to today Distribution gives way to Markdown with volume flow in agreement
2026-11-01Read Distribution53.76+0.4% to today Markup gives way to Distribution after a 5% slide in 4 days
2026-10-28Read Markup56.84-5.1% to today Distribution gives way to Markup after a 6% rise in 4 weeks
2026-10-02Read Distribution53.75+0.4% to today Markup gives way to Distribution after a 7% slide in 13 weeks
Our analytic regime reads on this name, dated and marked against the screened price. Small sample per name, and separate from the daily-framework accuracy on the Track Record page.
Virtu Financial, Inc. holds its Markdown at $53.95. Elevated stress, defensive posture warranted, held for 14 days.
As held on the ledger · 2026-11-05
Phase
Markdown · caution
Quantitative state
Elevated stress, defensive posture warranted, held for 14 days
Price at the screen
$53.95
Valuation
8.93 trailing · 7.44 forward price to earnings
Values screen
FAIL· score 30.0
Beta
0.65
The Workings
Five Screens, Shown in Full
Does not pass. Prohibited keyword in sector/industry: financial services
Test
Figure
Limit
What it means
Status
Business activity
Excluded
Core business clean
Prohibited keyword in sector/industry: financial services
Fail
Debt load
Excluded
Below 33%
Interest-bearing debt is of its assets, above the one-third ceiling the screen allows.
Fail
Interest-bearing cash
Excluded
Below 33%
Interest-bearing cash and securities are of assets, above the one-third limit.
Fail
Receivables
Excluded
Below 49%
Money owed to the company is of assets, above the 49% limit.
Fail
Revenue purity
Excluded
Below 5%
of revenue comes from non-compliant sources, over the 5% line.
Fail
Five checks adapted from AAOIFI screening standards: business activity plus four balance-sheet ratios. All five must pass for ethical clearance. Every figure is arithmetic on public accounts, not judgement.
The Ethical Read
Why It Falls Short, in Plain English
Virtu Financial, does not clear the screen at the business-activity stage. It operates in conventional financial services, which the screen treats as interest-based, so the financial ratios are not the deciding factor here.
Read as at 2026-11-05. It updates when the underlying figures move, and past reads are kept below.
Follow this verdict
Get an email when VIRT's ethical verdict changes
Today VIRT does not pass the screen. If new figures move it to a pass, we send you one short email with the before and after. Verdicts change rarely, so you may not hear from us for a long time.
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What the Numbers Say It Is Worth
The Fair Value Range
Our analysis reads Undervalued vs our fair value, as of 5 Nov 2026: it trades at roughly a 37% discount to our $84.00 fair value, 29.10% revenue growth.
Fair value range in USD, drawn from the 2026-11-05 screen. The gold marker is the market price at the same screen. A 35.8% discount to the base estimate.
Where our models see it going: fair-value estimate $84.00, with a range of $81.31 to $106.06, dated to the 2026-11-05 screen.
Fair value and rating are our own model estimates; the Street's range reflects third-party analyst estimates. Analysis, not advice.
The Business, in Plain Words
Market Makers Smooth Trades No One Sees
Every time a fund manager dumps a block of shares, someone has to stand in the middle and keep the price from breaking. Virtu Financial does that job at scale across equities and derivatives. Yet we pass, because the business sits inside financial services, a sector our screen rules out on principle.
The numbers look strong on paper. Revenue is growing 30 percent, forward earnings sit at just 8.6 times, profit margins reach 18 percent and return on equity hits 57 percent, with a 31 percent gap between the current price and our fair value. Analyst targets cluster around 70 dollars and the consensus is simply hold.
High returns in this line of work often come with hidden leverage and sudden liquidity shocks that can erase years of gains in weeks. The ethical screen exists to keep us out of those corners regardless of valuation. Analysis, not advice.
Another profit measure, before interest, tax and non-cash costs: EBITDA.
The risks · The things to watch: it carries a real debt load, which raises the stakes if revenue slips.
Plain-English interpretation of our own screen data. Analysis, not advice.
Where & How to Trade
VIRT trades on the NYSE. As a listed security it is accessible through almost any international broker offering its home market. New to this, or investing from abroad? Our guide to accessing global markets covers brokers, currencies and the practical steps.
The Dated Journal · Newest First, Never Edited
Every Entry, As Written
2026-11-05Markdown · changed$53.03-0.4%Entry 17
The framework has shifted from distribution to markdown since the last review. Price is trending lower. Sellers are in control and the prior trend has reversed. Price has moved down 0.4% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows excellent risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it D, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is holding around 17% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading oversold. Over the past year the shares are up 42%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 32%. The street (7 analysts) rates it none, with a mean price target of $52. It reported earnings in this window, a natural checkpoint for the thesis.
2026-11-04Distribution$53.23-1.0%Entry 16
The analysis reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved down 1.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows excellent risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it D, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is holding around 17% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading oversold. Over the past year the shares are up 42%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 32%. The street (7 analysts) rates it none, with a mean price target of $52. It reported earnings in this window, a natural checkpoint for the thesis.
2026-11-03Distribution$53.76+0.0%Entry 15
The analysis reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows excellent risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it D, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is holding around 17% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading oversold. Over the past year the shares are up 42%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 32%. The street (7 analysts) rates it none, with a mean price target of $52. It reported earnings in this window, a natural checkpoint for the thesis.
2026-11-02Distribution$53.76+0.0%Entry 14
The analysis reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows excellent risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it D, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is holding around 17% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading oversold. Over the past year the shares are up 42%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 32%. The street (7 analysts) rates it none, with a mean price target of $52. It reported earnings in this window, a natural checkpoint for the thesis.
The framework has shifted from markup to distribution since the last review. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows excellent risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it C, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is holding around 17% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading oversold. Over the past year the shares are up 42%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 32%. The street (7 analysts) rates it none, with a mean price target of $52. It reported earnings in this window, a natural checkpoint for the thesis.
2026-10-31Markup$53.76-3.9%Entry 12
The analysis reads markup. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Price has moved down 3.9% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows excellent risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it C, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is holding around 17% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading oversold. Over the past year the shares are up 42%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 32%. The street (7 analysts) rates it none, with a mean price target of $52. It reported earnings in this window, a natural checkpoint for the thesis.
2026-10-30Markup$55.93+0.0%Entry 11
The analysis reads markup. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows excellent risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it C, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is holding around 17% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading oversold. Over the past year the shares are up 42%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 32%. The street (7 analysts) rates it none, with a mean price target of $52. It reported earnings in this window, a natural checkpoint for the thesis.
2026-10-29Markup$55.93-1.6%Entry 10
The analysis reads markup. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Price has moved down 1.6% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows excellent risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it C, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is holding around 17% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading oversold. Over the past year the shares are up 42%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 32%. The street (7 analysts) rates it none, with a mean price target of $52. It reported earnings in this window, a natural checkpoint for the thesis.
2026-10-28Markup · changed$56.84+0.0%Entry 9
The framework has shifted from distribution to markup since the last review. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows excellent risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it C, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is holding around 17% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading oversold. Over the past year the shares are up 42%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 32%. The street (7 analysts) rates it none, with a mean price target of $52.
2026-10-21Distribution$56.84-1.2%Entry 8
The analysis reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved down 1.2% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows excellent risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it C, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is holding around 18% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are up 42%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 32%. The street (7 analysts) rates it none, with a mean price target of $52.
Each entry above was written on its date, before the outcome. A journal you can prune is not a journal.
