VNET Group (NASDAQ:VNET) Shares Up 15.5% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• VNET shares rose 15.5% to $3.442 during Wednesday trading, while volume was 79% below its average session volume.
• Analysts have a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $14.88 average price target, though recommendations are mixed and UBS recently cut its target to $6.80.
• Latest quarterly results showed an earnings-per-share miss of $0.06 versus estimates of a $0.02 loss, while revenue of $409 million topped expectations of $401.77 million.

VNET Group, Inc. - Unsponsored ADR (NASDAQ:VNET - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 15.5% during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $3.51 and last traded at $3.4420. 1,298,203 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 6,216,874 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.98.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VNET has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of VNET Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings downgraded VNET Group from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on VNET Group from $13.40 to $6.80 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on VNET Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $12.50 price objective on the stock. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $14.88.

VNET Group Stock Up 19.5%

The company has a 50-day moving average of $5.42 and a 200-day moving average of $8.27. 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 company has a market capitalization of $963.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.51 and a beta of 0.35.

VNET Group (NASDAQ:VNET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 19th. The information technology services provider reported ($0.06) earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $409.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $401.77 million. On average, equities analysts predict that VNET Group, Inc. - Unsponsored ADR will post -0.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VNET Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VNET. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake 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 valued at $22,012,000 after buying an additional 443,656 shares during the last quarter. FACT Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of VNET Group in the first quarter worth about $4,012,000. Infini Capital Management Ltd acquired a new stake in VNET Group during the second quarter worth about $38,883,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new stake in VNET Group during the first quarter worth about $1,809,000. Finally, Regal Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in VNET Group during the first quarter worth about $3,095,000. 72.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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