GDS (NASDAQ:GDS) Trading 7.2% Higher – Still a Buy?

GDS Holdings (NASDAQ:GDS)’s share price shot up 7.2% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $35.00 and last traded at $35.1080. Approximately 905,416 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 2,188,406 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.74.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GDS has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of GDS from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Zacks Research lowered shares of GDS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of GDS from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of GDS from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $36.00 price target on GDS in a report on Thursday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.33.

GDS Stock Up 5.5%

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 1.87. The company has a market cap of $6.92 billion, a PE ratio of 22.02 and a beta of 0.43.

GDS (NASDAQ:GDS) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.51. GDS had a net margin of 23.83% and a return on equity of 15.62%. The business had revenue of $475.06 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $454.25 million. Equities research analysts predict that GDS Holdings will post 2.65 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Judy Qing Ye sold 37,394 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.21, for a total transaction of $1,354,036.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Yixin Qian sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.25, for a total value of $352,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 66,865 shares in the company, valued at $2,356,991.25. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 7.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GDS

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of GDS. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in GDS during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in GDS during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in GDS during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in GDS by 41.6% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 531 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of GDS by 113.0% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 974 shares in the last quarter. 33.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About GDS

GDS Holdings Limited, founded in 2001 and headquartered in Shanghai, is a leading network-neutral data center services provider in China. The company operates a portfolio of state-of-the-art data center facilities designed to support the mission-critical IT infrastructure of cloud service providers, internet enterprises, financial institutions, and government entities. GDS was among the first Chinese providers to offer high-density colocation solutions, catering to customers with demanding computing and storage requirements.

GDS specializes in delivering scalable colocation, cross-connect, and interconnection services within its facilities, enabling clients to establish high-speed, low-latency connections to major cloud platforms and internet exchange points.