BNP Paribas Exane Begins Coverage on WeRide (NASDAQ:WRD)

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on WeRide with an "outperform" rating and an $11.00 price target, implying roughly a 50% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed-to-positive: one Strong Buy, five Buy and one Sell, producing a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $12.70 (CLSA $13, BofA $12).
• WeRide is trading around $7.32 with a market cap of $2.37B; the company reported -$0.24 EPS last quarter, a negative net margin of 240.54% and $44.9M in revenue, signalling growth but continued unprofitability.

Analysts at BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of WeRide (NASDAQ:WRD - Get Free Report) in a research report issued on Thursday. The firm set an "outperform" rating and a $11.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane's price target points to a potential upside of 50.38% from the company's previous close.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research raised WeRide from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of WeRide in a research report on Monday, January 19th. CLSA assumed coverage on shares of WeRide in a report on Monday, January 5th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $13.00 price target for the company. Bank of America started coverage on shares of WeRide in a research report on Monday, December 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $12.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of WeRide in a report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $12.70.

WeRide Stock Performance

WeRide stock opened at $7.32 on Thursday. WeRide has a 1 year low of $6.01 and a 1 year high of $15.64. The firm's 50-day moving average is $7.46 and its 200-day moving average is $8.79. The company has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.75 and a beta of 4.36.

WeRide (NASDAQ:WRD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 23rd. The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share for the quarter. WeRide had a negative net margin of 240.54% and a negative return on equity of 24.38%. The business had revenue of $44.88 million for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that WeRide will post -0.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in WeRide in the first quarter worth about $27,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. acquired a new position in WeRide during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of WeRide during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,915,000. MY.Alpha Management HK Advisors Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of WeRide in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,374,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of WeRide in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $666,000.

WeRide Company Profile

WeRide Inc NASDAQ: WRD is a developer of autonomous driving technology focused on providing Level 4 (L4) self-driving solutions for passenger mobility and logistics. The company's full-stack platform integrates sensors, computing hardware, software algorithms and vehicle controls to enable driverless taxis, shuttles and goods delivery vehicles. By combining perception, planning and controls in a turnkey system, WeRide aims to accelerate the commercialization of robotaxi services and autonomous fleet operations.

Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Guangzhou, China, WeRide maintains research and development centers in Silicon Valley and China.

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