VNET Group (NASDAQ:VNET) Trading Down 4.4% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• VNET Group shares fell 4.4% to about $6.59, with trading volume down 94% from its average. The stock remains below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $16.90 target price, although Wall Street Zen recently downgraded the stock to “Sell.”
• The company reported a quarterly EPS loss of $0.06, missing estimates, despite revenue of $409 million exceeding expectations. VNET also has negative profitability metrics, including a 22.29% net margin and a 36.25% return on equity.

VNET Group, Inc. - Unsponsored ADR (NASDAQ:VNET - Get Free Report) shares traded down 4.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $6.63 and last traded at $6.5870. Approximately 387,221 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 94% from the average daily volume of 6,565,574 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on VNET shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded VNET Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Bank of America set a $16.30 target price on VNET Group and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of VNET Group in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Zacks Research raised VNET Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on VNET Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $12.50 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $16.90.

VNET Group Stock Down 4.1%

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 has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.65 and a beta of 0.32. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $7.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.07.

VNET Group (NASDAQ:VNET - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 18th. The information technology services provider reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.04). VNET Group had a negative net margin of 22.29% and a negative return on equity of 36.25%. The business had revenue of $409.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $401.77 million. As a group, research analysts predict that VNET Group, Inc. - Unsponsored ADR will post -0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at VNET Group

In other news, Director Sean Shao sold 60,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.71, for a total transaction of $102,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 983,820 shares in the company, valued at $1,682,332.20. This trade represents a 5.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 12.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Triata Capital Ltd lifted its position in shares of VNET Group by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Triata Capital Ltd now owns 12,498,810 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $105,740,000 after acquiring an additional 550,841 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of VNET Group in the fourth quarter valued at $65,650,000. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of VNET Group by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 6,285,386 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $53,174,000 after purchasing an additional 796,266 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of VNET Group by 73.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,283,660 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $44,250,000 after purchasing an additional 1,809,987 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of VNET Group by 674.8% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,343,088 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $23,067,000 after purchasing an additional 2,911,604 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.83% of the company's stock.

About VNET Group

VNET Group, Inc NASDAQ: VNET is a leading carrier-neutral internet data center (IDC) services provider in China. Established in 1999 and headquartered in Beijing, the company delivers a full spectrum of infrastructure solutions that support the growing digital economy. Its core offerings include data center colocation, managed hosting, network connectivity, and disaster recovery services designed to meet the performance and reliability requirements of enterprise and internet content customers.

The company's product portfolio spans private cloud, public cloud and hybrid cloud deployments, enabling clients to scale computing resources on demand.

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