Vipshop (NYSE:VIPS) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Vipshop Holdings Limited (NYSE:VIPS)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after StockNews.com downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The stock had previously closed at $13.54, but opened at $13.20. Vipshop shares last traded at $13.26, with a volume of 442,283 shares.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Vipshop from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. CLSA downgraded shares of Vipshop from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $15.80 to $12.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vipshop in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays began coverage on shares of Vipshop in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $19.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Vipshop from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.50.

Institutional Trading of Vipshop

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VIPS. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Vipshop by 1,904.0% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,527 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 3,351 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vipshop in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in Vipshop by 143.2% in the 2nd quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 4,614 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 2,717 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new stake in Vipshop during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $136,000. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Vipshop by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,050 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 48.82% of the company’s stock.

Vipshop Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $7.21 billion, a PE ratio of 6.48, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.42.

Vipshop (NYSE:VIPS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The technology company reported $3.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $3.43. Vipshop had a return on equity of 21.04% and a net margin of 7.50%. The business had revenue of $25.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Vipshop Holdings Limited will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

About Vipshop

Vipshop Holdings Limited operates online platforms in the People's Republic of China. It operates in Vip.com, Shan Shan Outlets, and Others segments. The company offers womenswear, menswear, sportswear and sporting goods, shoes and bags, accessories, baby and children products, skincare and cosmetics, home goods and other lifestyle products, and supermarket products.