Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) Stock

Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) had its target price boosted by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $224.00 to $228.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underweight” rating on the closed-end fund’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 3.17% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on VRTS. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Virtus Investment Partners from $264.00 to $274.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners from $212.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Virtus Investment Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Virtus Investment Partners has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $247.00.

Virtus Investment Partners Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of VRTS opened at $221.00 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $232.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.00. Virtus Investment Partners has a 12 month low of $190.42 and a 12 month high of $263.39. The company has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a PE ratio of 13.43 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 11.86, a quick ratio of 11.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtus Investment Partners

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,377 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners by 2.3% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 3,717 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $839,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 3.0% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 3,400 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $768,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its stake in Virtus Investment Partners by 388.5% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 127 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of Virtus Investment Partners by 7.2% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,852 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. 80.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.