VNET Group (NASDAQ:VNET) Reaches New 1-Year Low - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• VNET Group fell to a new 52-week low, trading as low as $2.94 and last changing hands near $3.00, well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with five Buy ratings and a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, although UBS sharply cut its target to $6.80. The consensus price target is $14.88.
• The company continues to face financial pressure, including a quarterly EPS miss, negative net margin and return on equity, and high leverage with a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.35.

VNET Group, Inc. - Unsponsored ADR (NASDAQ:VNET - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as low as $2.94 and last traded at $2.9990, with a volume of 351,421 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $3.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VNET has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of VNET Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $12.50 target price for the company. UBS Group reduced their price target on VNET Group from $13.40 to $6.80 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of VNET Group in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut VNET Group from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $14.88.

VNET Group Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.35, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $5.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $802.00 million, a PE ratio of -2.10 and a beta of 0.36.

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

Institutional Trading of VNET Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Infini Capital Management Ltd acquired a new stake in VNET Group in the second quarter valued at $38,883,000. Carmignac Gestion lifted its holdings in VNET Group by 1,375.1% during the 2nd quarter. Carmignac Gestion now owns 4,760,599 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $38,123,000 after buying an additional 4,437,879 shares during the last quarter. Senvest Management LLC boosted its position in shares of VNET Group by 211.7% during the 1st quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 2,779,637 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $23,321,000 after acquiring an additional 1,887,883 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of VNET Group by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,623,594 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $22,012,000 after acquiring an additional 443,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of VNET Group by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,470,654 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $12,330,000 after acquiring an additional 209,694 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.83% of the company's stock.

VNET Group Company Profile

VNET Group, Inc NASDAQ: VNET, formerly known as 21Vianet Group, is a provider of data center and information technology infrastructure services in China. Founded in 1999, the company operates carrier-neutral data centers that allow customers to house servers and other equipment while connecting to multiple telecommunications and internet networks.

VNET's services include data center hosting, cloud computing, managed network services, internet connectivity, content delivery and hybrid cloud solutions.

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