Rakuten (OTCMKTS:RKUNY) Sees Large Volume Increase - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Shares experienced a large intraday volume spike — a 338% increase to about 145,427 shares — with the stock trading near $4.86 (slightly below the prior close of $4.88).
• Zacks Research cut its rating to "strong sell," but MarketBeat shows a consensus of "Buy" (two Strong Buy, one Sell), signalling mixed analyst views.
• Fundamentals are weak: quarterly EPS of -$0.08 missed estimates by $0.04, the company has negative net margin and ROE, a high debt-to-equity ratio (4.11), and the share price sits below its 50- and 200-day moving averages.

Rakuten, Inc. (OTCMKTS:RKUNY - Get Free Report) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 145,427 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 338% from the previous session's volume of 33,168 shares.The stock last traded at $4.86 and had previously closed at $4.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Zacks Research cut shares of Rakuten from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Rakuten Stock Down 1.0%

The business's 50 day moving average is $5.29 and its 200-day moving average is $5.94. The stock has a market cap of $10.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.95 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.11, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Rakuten (OTCMKTS:RKUNY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.04). Rakuten had a negative net margin of 7.13% and a negative return on equity of 14.73%. The company had revenue of $4.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.15 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Rakuten, Inc. will post 0.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Rakuten

Rakuten, Inc is a diversified internet services company based in Tokyo, Japan, and founded in 1997 by Hiroshi Mikitani, who continues to serve as chairman and chief executive officer. Originally established as an online marketplace, Rakuten has expanded its reach to become a global technology group offering a wide range of digital services and consumer-facing platforms. The company is listed in Japan but its American depositary receipts trade over the counter under the symbol RKUNY.

At the core of Rakuten's business is its e-commerce marketplace, Rakuten Ichiba, which hosts millions of merchants and serves tens of millions of customers across Japan and other key markets.

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