NEW YORK, June 26, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Virtu Financial, Inc. (“Virtu” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: VIRT), and certain officers.   The class action, filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and docketed under 23-cv-03770, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities other than Defendants that purchased or otherwise acquired Virtu securities between March 1, 2019 and April 28, 2023, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants’ violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials.

If you are a shareholder who purchased or otherwise acquired Virtu securities during the Class Period, you have until July 18, 2023 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class.  A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com.   To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased. 

[Click here for information about joining the class action]

Virtu is a financial services company that operates through two segments, Market Making and Execution Services. The Company’s product suite includes offerings in execution, liquidity sourcing, analytics and broker-neutral, and multi-dealer platforms in workflow technology. As part of its operations, Virtu claims to have established information access barriers, or separations between different departments or individuals designed to block the exchange of confidential information and prevent conflicts of interest.

The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) the Company maintained deficient policies and procedures with respect to its information access barriers; (ii) accordingly, Virtu had overstated the Company’s operational and technological efficacy as well as its capacity to block the exchange of confidential information between departments or individuals within the Company; (iii) the foregoing deficiencies increased the likelihood that the Company would be subject to enhanced regulatory scrutiny; and (iv) as a result, Defendants’ public statements were materially false and/or misleading at all relevant times.

On February 17, 2023, after the market had closed, Virtu filed an Annual Report on Form 10-K with the SEC, reporting the Company’s financial and operating results for the year ended December 31, 2022 (the “2022 10-K”). In the 2022 10-K, Virtu disclosed that “the Company has been responding to requests for information from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in connection with an investigation of aspects of the Company’s information access barriers.”

On this news, Virtu’s stock price fell $0.32 per share, or 1.60%, to close at $19.69 per share on February 21, 2023.

Then, on April 28, 2023, Virtu filed a Quarterly Report with the SEC, reporting the Company’s financial and operating results for the quarter ended March 31, 2023 (the “Q1 2023 10-Q”). In the Q1 2023 10-Q, Virtu reiterated that it had been responding to requests for information from the SEC in connection with an investigation of aspects of the Company’s information access barriers, and added, in relevant part, “[i]n the absence of a settlement, the Company currently believes it may receive a Wells Notice from the SEC[,]” and “[t]he proposed action would be expected to allege violations of federal securities laws with respect to the Company’s information barriers policies and procedures for a specified time period in and around January 2018 to April 2019 and related statements made by the Company during such period.”

On this news, Virtu’s stock price fell $1.13 per share, or 5.68%, to close at $18.77 per share on May 3, 2023.

On May 1, 2023, the Wall Street Journal published an article entitled “Virtu Stock Falls After Disclosure of Potential SEC Enforcement Action.” In the article, it was revealed that a Virtu spokesperson stated that the investigation was “primarily focused on an access controls weakness in one of [Virtu’s] internal back-office systems containing post trade information that theoretically could allow certain system users access greater than what was intended by our policies.”

Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered billions of dollars in damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com.

CONTACT:
Robert S. Willoughby
Pomerantz LLP
[email protected]
888-476-6529 ext. 7980