Acquisition Announcement: Virtus Investment Partners has announced a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in Keystone National Group for $200 million, which will expand its offerings into asset-backed lending and enhance its competitive position in private markets.
Capital Deployment: Since its inception in 2006, Keystone has managed $2.5 billion in assets and deployed over $6 billion across more than 750 transactions, showcasing its robust capabilities in the asset-backed credit space.
Investor Confidence: Keystone's flagship fund, the Keystone Private Income Fund (KPIF), has a size of $2 billion and enjoys strong support from wealth managers due to its stable investment performance, indicating that this acquisition will further enhance its market appeal.
Future Outlook: The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026 and is projected to be accretive to Virtus's earnings, reflecting the company's strong commitment to diversifying its investment strategies.
VRTS
$164.83+Infinity%1D
Analyst Views on VRTS
Wall Street analysts forecast VRTS stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for VRTS is 176.00 USD with a low forecast of 173.00 USD and a high forecast of 180.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
3 Analyst Rating
Wall Street analysts forecast VRTS stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for VRTS is 176.00 USD with a low forecast of 173.00 USD and a high forecast of 180.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
0 Buy
1 Hold
2 Sell
Moderate Sell
Current: 166.590
Low
173.00
Averages
176.00
High
180.00
Current: 166.590
Low
173.00
Averages
176.00
High
180.00
Barclays
Underweight
downgrade
$175 -> $158
2025-12-12
Reason
Barclays
Price Target
$175 -> $158
2025-12-12
downgrade
Underweight
Reason
Barclays lowered the firm's price target on Virtus Investment to $158 from $175 and keeps an Underweight rating on the shares. The firm adjusted targets in the brokers, asset managers and exchanges group as part of its 2026. Market conditions "look constructive" going into 2026, particularly for the alternative asset managers and wealth brokers, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Barclays sees a more mixed outlook for the exchanges and traditional asset managers.
Morgan Stanley
Underweight
maintain
$170 -> $173
2025-10-28
Reason
Morgan Stanley
Price Target
$170 -> $173
2025-10-28
maintain
Underweight
Reason
Morgan Stanley raised the firm's price target on Virtus Investment to $173 from $170 and keeps an Underweight rating on the shares. The firm updated its Q4 and FY26 adjusted EPS estimates following a model refresh post the Q3 report.
TD Cowen
Hold
downgrade
$196 -> $180
2025-10-27
Reason
TD Cowen
Price Target
$196 -> $180
2025-10-27
downgrade
Hold
Reason
TD Cowen lowered the firm's price target on Virtus Investment to $180 from $196 and keeps a Hold rating on the shares. The firm said Q3 ended with one hand, greater challenges to drive both flows and earnings leverage, and on the other hand, it seems that the probability for a deal is rising.
Barclays
Underweight
downgrade
$190 -> $175
2025-10-21
Reason
Barclays
Price Target
$190 -> $175
2025-10-21
downgrade
Underweight
Reason
Barclays lowered the firm's price target on Virtus Investment to $175 from $190 and keeps an Underweight rating on the shares as part of a Q3 preview for the asset managers. Assets under management estimates rose due to market appreciation in Q3, relative to Q2, though flow profiles were mostly negative, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
About VRTS
Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. provides investment management and related services to institutions and individuals. It offers investment strategies for institutional and individual investors in different investment products and through multiple distribution channels. It provides various asset classes (equity, fixed income, multi-asset and alternatives), geographies (domestic, global, international and emerging), market capitalizations (large, mid and small), styles (growth, core and value) and investment approaches (fundamental and quantitative). Its retail products include open-end funds, closed-end funds and retail separate accounts. Its institutional products are offered to a variety of institutional clients through institutional separate accounts and commingled accounts, including sub advisory services to other investment advisers and its sponsored structured products. Its institutional products are marketed through relationships with consultants as well as directly to clients.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
