VNET Group (NASDAQ:VNET) Shares Down 5.2% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• VNET shares fell 5.2% to about $3.00, with trading volume roughly 94% below the stock’s average session volume.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $14.88, though UBS cut its target from $13.40 to $6.80 while retaining a Buy rating.
• Quarterly earnings missed expectations at a loss of $0.06 per share, while revenue of $409 million topped estimates; the company also reported negative net margin and return on equity.

VNET Group, Inc. - Unsponsored ADR (NASDAQ:VNET - Get Free Report) shares dropped 5.2% during trading on Monday. The stock traded as low as $3.06 and last traded at $2.9950. Approximately 397,896 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 94% from the average session volume of 6,266,285 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VNET has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of VNET Group from $13.40 to $6.80 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of VNET Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered VNET Group from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $14.88.

VNET Group Trading Up 0.3%

The company has a market cap of $857.18 million, a P/E ratio of -2.21 and a beta of 0.35. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $5.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.16.

VNET Group (NASDAQ:VNET - Get Free Report) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $409.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $401.77 million. VNET Group had a negative net margin of 22.29% and a negative return on equity of 36.25%. Analysts forecast that VNET Group, Inc. - Unsponsored ADR will post -0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VNET Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Infini Capital Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of VNET Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,883,000. Carmignac Gestion boosted its holdings in shares of 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 period. Senvest Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,887,883 shares during the period. Greenwoods Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd. acquired a new position in VNET Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,214,000. Finally, FACT Capital LP acquired a new position in VNET Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $4,012,000. Institutional investors own 72.83% of the company's stock.

About VNET Group

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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