Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Raises Position in WeRide Inc. $WRD

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its WeRide stake by 229.3% in the first quarter, buying an additional 1,605,657 shares and bringing its total holding to 2,305,997 shares worth about $18.7 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but generally positive: WeRide has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating, with seven Buy ratings, one Hold, and one Sell, and an average target price of $12.48.
• The stock has been under pressure, trading at $5.74 versus a 52-week high of $12.55, while the company continues to post losses, including -$0.17 EPS on $16.55 million in quarterly revenue.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in WeRide Inc. (NASDAQ:WRD - Free Report) by 229.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,305,997 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,605,657 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.73% of WeRide worth $18,656,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in WeRide in the first quarter worth $27,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. purchased a new position in shares of WeRide during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in shares of WeRide during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new position in shares of WeRide during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in WeRide in the 4th quarter worth about $65,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on WRD. Zacks Research downgraded shares of WeRide from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of WeRide in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $11.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings raised shares of WeRide from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of WeRide in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of WeRide from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $12.48.

WeRide Stock Performance

Shares of WRD opened at $5.74 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $6.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.65 and a beta of 1.92. WeRide Inc. has a 52-week low of $5.18 and a 52-week high of $12.55.

WeRide (NASDAQ:WRD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported ($0.17) earnings per share for the quarter. WeRide had a negative net margin of 228.47% and a negative return on equity of 24.18%. The company had revenue of $16.55 million for the quarter. On average, research analysts forecast that WeRide Inc. will post -0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WeRide 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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