VNET Group (NASDAQ:VNET) Stock Jumps 14.8% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• VNET Group shares jumped 14.8% in mid-day trading to $3.444, while trading volume was about 89% below its average.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” based on five Buy, one Hold, and one Sell rating, with an average price target of $14.88.
• In its latest reported quarter, VNET missed earnings expectations, reporting a loss of $0.06 per share versus an expected loss of $0.02, but revenue of $409 million exceeded estimates.

Shares of VNET Group, Inc. - Unsponsored ADR (NASDAQ:VNET - Get Free Report) were up 14.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $3.31 and last traded at $3.4440. Approximately 705,236 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 6,257,019 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VNET. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of VNET Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of VNET Group from $13.40 to $6.80 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of 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 issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, VNET Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $14.88.

VNET Group Trading Up 20.2%

The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $5.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $975.66 million, a PE ratio of -2.55 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.35, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

VNET Group (NASDAQ:VNET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 for 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that VNET Group, Inc. - Unsponsored ADR will post -0.51 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of VNET Group by 384.6% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 11,334 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 8,995 shares during the last quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of VNET Group by 52.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 48,350 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 16,600 shares during the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VNET Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $56,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of VNET Group by 173.0% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 11,833 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 7,498 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of VNET Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $85,000. 72.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About VNET Group

VNET Group, Inc., formerly known as 21Vianet Group, is a Chinese provider of carrier-neutral data center and information technology services. The company operates data centers that support businesses' computing, storage and connectivity needs. Its services include data center hosting and colocation, managed network services, cloud services and related IT solutions. VNET also provides connectivity between data centers, customers and internet service providers. The company serves enterprises and other organizations in China, with facilities in major markets across the country.

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