Ocado Group (LON:OCDO) Trading Up 3.8% – What’s Next?

Ocado Group plc (LON:OCDO)’s share price was up 3.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as GBX 170.90 and last traded at GBX 165.20. Approximately 11,706,138 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 47% from the average daily volume of 21,883,256 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 159.20.

Key Headlines Impacting Ocado Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Ocado Group this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Ocado reported quarterly earnings with EPS of GBX (3.90), but the market appeared to focus more on the company’s ongoing challenges and execution outlook than on the headline numbers. Ocado Group earnings report
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider buying by Tim Steiner and Stephen Daintith, each purchasing 87 shares at GBX 172, may signal confidence, but the trades were very small and likely have limited direct impact on the stock. Insider buying alert
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its price target on Ocado to GBX 245 from GBX 290, but kept an overweight rating, which suggests continued long-term optimism even as near-term expectations are trimmed. JPMorgan price target update
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Ocado shares hit a 13-year low amid weak progress in winning new U.S. partners likely weighed on sentiment, as investors remain concerned about growth prospects and commercialization momentum. Ocado shares hit 13-year low report

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 310 target price on shares of Ocado Group in a research note on Monday, June 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Ocado Group from GBX 290 to GBX 245 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Ocado Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of GBX 277.50.

Ocado Group Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 110.64. The stock has a market cap of £1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 2.39. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 190.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of GBX 208.28.

Ocado Group (LON:OCDO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The company reported GBX (3.90) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Ocado Group had a negative return on equity of 15.94% and a negative net margin of 14.29%.

Ocado Group Company Profile

Ocado Group is a UK based technology company that provides end-to-end online grocery fulfilment solutions, known as the Ocado Smart Platform, to some of the world’s largest grocery retailers and holds a 50% share of Ocado Retail Ltd in the UK in a Joint Venture with Marks & Spencer. OSP comprises access to Ocado’s physical infrastructure solutions, running highly efficient warehouse operations for the single pick of products, together with the entire end-to-end proprietary software applications required to operate a world class online grocery business.