Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Virtus Investment Partners from $208.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Virtus Investment Partners in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $206.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $233.50.

Virtus Investment Partners Price Performance

Shares of VRTS traded down $1.47 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $242.58. 33,429 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 43,313. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 15.18 and a quick ratio of 15.18. Virtus Investment Partners has a one year low of $190.42 and a one year high of $263.39. The company has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 14.75 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $212.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $218.77.

Institutional Trading of Virtus Investment Partners

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 6,550.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 133 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Virtus Investment Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Virtus Investment Partners during the third quarter worth about $42,000. Bessemer Group Inc. acquired a new position in Virtus Investment Partners during the first quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 625.6% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 312 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Virtus Investment Partners

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to individual and institutional clients. It launches separate client focused equity and fixed income portfolios. The firm launches equity, fixed income, and balanced mutual funds for its clients.