Coupang (NYSE:CPNG) Coverage Initiated at Arete Research

Key Points

• Arete Research has initiated coverage on Coupang, giving it a "buy" rating and setting a price target of $40.00, indicating a potential upside of 19.26% from its current price.
• Coupang reported a 16.4% year-over-year increase in revenue for the last quarter, amounting to $8.52 billion, but fell short of earnings expectations by $0.05 per share.
• Analyst ratings for Coupang are mixed, with one "Strong Buy", six "Buy", and two "Hold" ratings, leading to a current consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $32.25.

Equities research analysts at Arete Research initiated coverage on shares of Coupang (NYSE:CPNG - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm set a "buy" rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Arete Research's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 21.40% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Nomura Securities raised shares of Coupang to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Coupang from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Nomura raised shares of Coupang from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Coupang from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Coupang from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $27.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.11.

Coupang Stock Performance

Shares of Coupang stock traded down $0.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $32.95. 111,558,696 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,638,589. Coupang has a 12 month low of $19.02 and a 12 month high of $34.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $60.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 164.76 and a beta of 1.15.

Coupang (NYSE:CPNG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.05). Coupang had a return on equity of 7.47% and a net margin of 1.13%.The firm had revenue of $8.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.07 EPS. Coupang's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Coupang will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Pranam Kolari sold 11,653 shares of Coupang stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.14, for a total value of $339,568.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 158,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,623,818.64. The trade was a 6.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Benjamin Sun sold 815,797 shares of Coupang stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.88, for a total transaction of $26,007,608.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 503,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,055,533.12. This represents a 61.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 988,983 shares of company stock worth $31,203,966 in the last three months. Insiders own 12.78% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coupang during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new position in shares of Coupang during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in shares of Coupang during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Coupang during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in shares of Coupang by 43.1% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,680 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. 83.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Coupang

Coupang, Inc, together with its subsidiaries owns and operates retail business through its mobile applications and Internet websites primarily in South Korea. The company operates through Product Commerce and Developing Offerings segments. It sells various products and services in the categories of home goods and décor products, apparel, beauty products, fresh food and groceries, sporting goods, electronics, and everyday consumables, as well as travel, and restaurant order and delivery services.