VNET Group (NASDAQ:VNET) Hits New 12-Month Low - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• VNET Group shares hit a new 52-week low, falling to $5.73 during trading and remaining below both the 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Wall Street Zen and Weiss Ratings maintain “sell” views, while Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley issued “buy” or “overweight” ratings. The consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $16.90.
• VNET missed quarterly EPS expectations, reporting a $0.06 loss per share versus an expected $0.02 loss, while revenue exceeded estimates. The company also has high leverage, with a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.35, although institutional investors own 72.83% of its stock.

Shares of VNET Group, Inc. - Unsponsored ADR (NASDAQ:VNET - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $5.73 and last traded at $5.8090, with a volume of 432119 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $5.98.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut VNET Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on VNET Group in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $12.50 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $14.00 price objective on shares of VNET Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded VNET Group from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, VNET Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $16.90.

VNET Group Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.35. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $6.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a PE ratio of -4.07 and a beta of 0.27.

VNET Group (NASDAQ:VNET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 19th. The information technology services provider reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.04). VNET Group had a negative return on equity of 36.25% and a negative net margin of 22.29%.The firm had revenue of $409.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $401.77 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that VNET Group, Inc. - Unsponsored ADR will post -0.48 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VNET Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in VNET Group by 255.2% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 332,025 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $2,669,000 after purchasing an additional 238,541 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in VNET Group during the second quarter worth approximately $474,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in VNET Group by 4.8% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 71,893 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $578,000 after purchasing an additional 3,312 shares during the period. Carmignac Gestion grew its holdings in VNET Group by 1,375.1% in the second quarter. Carmignac Gestion now owns 4,760,599 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $38,123,000 after purchasing an additional 4,437,879 shares during the period. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of VNET Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.83% of the company's stock.

VNET Group Company Profile

VNET Group, Inc NASDAQ: VNET, formerly known as 21Vianet Group, is a China-based provider of data center and information technology infrastructure services. The company operates carrier-neutral data centers that support enterprise customers, cloud service providers, internet companies, financial institutions and other organizations requiring secure, reliable computing and network capacity.

Its services include data center hosting and colocation, managed network services, cloud computing infrastructure, internet connectivity, content delivery and related information technology solutions.

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