Vipshop Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:VIPS)

Vipshop Holdings Limited (NYSE:VIPS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders acquired 3,409 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 130% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,481 put options.

Institutional Trading of Vipshop

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VIPS. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vipshop in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,990,000. Caas Capital Management LP bought a new position in Vipshop in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,327,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vipshop by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,961,402 shares of the technology company's stock worth $188,060,000 after buying an additional 79,254 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Vipshop by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,597,664 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $34,991,000 after acquiring an additional 908,669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vipshop by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,035,334 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $27,416,000 after acquiring an additional 286,604 shares during the period. 48.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vipshop Stock Performance

NYSE VIPS traded up $0.04 during trading on Thursday, hitting $14.48. The stock had a trading volume of 517,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,898,226. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.30. Vipshop has a one year low of $11.50 and a one year high of $17.94.

Vipshop (NYSE:VIPS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.82 billion. Vipshop had a net margin of 7.50% and a return on equity of 20.89%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vipshop will post 1.95 EPS for the current year.

Vipshop Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 11th. Vipshop's payout ratio is 24.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VIPS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vipshop from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup lowered Vipshop from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $18.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Vipshop from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vipshop currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $15.30.

Vipshop Company Profile

Vipshop Holdings Limited operates online platforms in the People's Republic of China. It operates in Vip.com, Shan Shan Outlets, and Others segments. The company offers womenswear, menswear, sportswear and sporting goods, shoes and bags, accessories, baby and children products, skincare and cosmetics, home goods and other lifestyle products, and supermarket products.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.