Lufax (NYSE:LU) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Lufax shares opened sharply higher, rising from a prior close of $8.06 to $9.01 before retreating to $8.59.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: JPMorgan upgraded the stock to “overweight” with a $20 price target, while the overall consensus is “Hold” with an average target of $17.
• Lufax reported a quarterly loss of $0.40 per share and revenue of $916.61 million, both substantially below analyst expectations; analysts project a full-year loss of $2.90 per share.

Lufax Holding Ltd. Sponsored ADR (NYSE:LU - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Monday. The stock had previously closed at $8.06, but opened at $9.01. Lufax shares last traded at $8.59, with a volume of 69,106 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on LU shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Lufax from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $20.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Zacks Research upgraded Lufax from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $14.00 price target on shares of Lufax and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lufax from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Lufax in a report on Thursday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $17.00.

Lufax Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $755.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.35 and a beta of 0.69. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $11.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.40.

Lufax (NYSE:LU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 14th. The company reported ($0.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.80 by ($11.20). The company had revenue of $916.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. On average, analysts expect that Lufax Holding Ltd. Sponsored ADR will post -2.90 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Lufax

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in Lufax during the 2nd quarter worth about $60,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Lufax in the second quarter valued at about $157,000. Ramsey Quantitative Systems acquired a new stake in shares of Lufax in the second quarter valued at about $199,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lufax by 7,538.6% in the first quarter. Barometer Capital Management Inc. now owns 534,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,000,000 after buying an additional 527,700 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Lufax by 2.4% during the first quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 329,089 shares of the company's stock worth $615,000 after acquiring an additional 7,608 shares during the last quarter. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lufax Company Profile

Lufax Holding Ltd. NYSE: LU is a China-based financial services technology company that operates digital platforms for retail and small-business finance. The company connects consumers and small-business owners with financial products and services through online channels and technology-enabled processes.

Lufax's business has historically included retail lending, wealth management and related financial services. Its platforms have provided access to consumer and small-business loans, investment products and other services offered in cooperation with financial institutions.

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