Vipshop (NYSE:VIPS) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume on Earnings Beat

Shares of Vipshop Holdings Limited (NYSE:VIPS) saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. 2,126,509 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 46% from the previous session’s volume of 3,916,879 shares.The stock last traded at $12.14 and had previously closed at $11.56.

The technology company reported $3.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $3.43. The firm had revenue of $25.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.61 billion. Vipshop had a net margin of 7.60% and a return on equity of 23.74%. The company’s revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VIPS has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered Vipshop from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Vipshop from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $12.50 in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Vipshop from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Vipshop from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, CLSA cut shares of Vipshop from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $15.80 to $12.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vipshop currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vipshop by 56.4% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,963 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 708 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Vipshop during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,351 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of Vipshop by 143.2% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in shares of Vipshop during the second quarter worth about $136,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 48.82% of the company’s stock.

Vipshop Stock Down 1.4 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $13.75 and a 200 day moving average of $15.63. The stock has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a PE ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 0.32.

Vipshop Company Profile

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.