Qfin (NASDAQ:QFIN) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Qfin's stock rating from a "hold" to a "strong sell" based on recent performance.
• Despite the downgrade, Weiss Ratings maintains a "buy" rating for Qfin, reflecting mixed analyst opinions on the stock's future performance.
• Qfin reported earnings per share of $1.78 for the last quarter, missing estimates, while institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes in the company.

Qfin (NASDAQ:QFIN - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on QFIN. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Qfin in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Qfin from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Qfin in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Qfin currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.73.

Qfin Price Performance

Qfin stock opened at $26.18 on Tuesday. Qfin has a 12-month low of $26.10 and a 12-month high of $48.94. The stock has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.70, a PEG ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $29.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.13. The company has a current ratio of 3.48, a quick ratio of 3.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Qfin (NASDAQ:QFIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.01). Qfin had a return on equity of 30.74% and a net margin of 38.66%.The firm had revenue of $728.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.68 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Qfin will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in QFIN. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Qfin by 10,812.1% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,042,306 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,720,000 after purchasing an additional 2,023,590 shares during the period. Aspex Management HK Ltd lifted its stake in Qfin by 30.5% in the second quarter. Aspex Management HK Ltd now owns 6,612,366 shares of the company's stock worth $286,712,000 after acquiring an additional 1,547,312 shares during the last quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Qfin by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC now owns 7,032,927 shares of the company's stock worth $315,849,000 after acquiring an additional 1,381,624 shares in the last quarter. Keystone Investors PTE Ltd. acquired a new position in Qfin during the 1st quarter worth approximately $52,814,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Qfin during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,265,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.81% of the company's stock.

Qfin Company Profile

Qifu Technology, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates credit-tech platform under the 360 Jietiao brand in the People's Republic of China. It provides credit-driven services that matches borrowers with financial institutions to conduct customer acquisition, initial and credit screening, advanced risk assessment, credit assessment, fund matching, and other post-facilitation services; and platform services, including loan facilitation and post-facilitation services to financial institution partners under intelligence credit engine, referral services, and risk management software-as-a-service.

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