VNET Group (NASDAQ:VNET) Shares Up 9.6% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• VNET Group shares jumped 9.6% after trading on Wednesday, with the stock reaching as high as $11.12 before closing near $10.87. Trading volume was lighter than usual at 2.18 million shares versus the average 7.34 million.
• The company reported a big earnings miss, posting a loss of $1.18 per share versus expectations for a much smaller loss. Revenue came in roughly in line with forecasts, and quarterly EBITDA was cited as better than expected.
• Analysts remain mixed but generally constructive: Jefferies, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America all issued buy-equivalent views or targets, while the consensus rating is “Hold” with an average price target of $19.03.

VNET Group, Inc. - Unsponsored ADR (NASDAQ:VNET - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 9.6% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $11.12 and last traded at $10.8720. 2,179,230 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 7,338,228 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.92.

Key Stories Impacting VNET Group

Here are the key news stories impacting VNET Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management said first-quarter execution was strong, citing progress on its dual-core strategy and Hyperscale 2.0 framework, which suggests the company is continuing to expand its data center platform. VNET Reports Unaudited First Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue was approximately in line with analyst expectations, and coverage cited quarterly EBITDA outperforming forecasts, which may support the stock despite the earnings miss. VNET Group Inc (VNET) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also reviewing the earnings call presentation and transcript for updated guidance and commentary on growth, margins, and capital spending. VNET Group, Inc. 2026 Q1 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation
• Negative Sentiment: The biggest negative was a sharp earnings miss: VNET reported a loss of $1.18 per share versus expectations for a much smaller loss, raising concerns about profitability and execution on the bottom line. VNET earnings report and transcript

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on VNET. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $24.79 price target on shares of VNET Group in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised VNET Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of VNET Group in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America set a $16.30 target price on VNET Group and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of VNET Group in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $19.03.

VNET Group Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.27 and a beta of 0.19.

VNET Group (NASDAQ:VNET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 16th. The information technology services provider reported $0.00 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($0.04). VNET Group had a positive return on equity of 1.36% and a negative net margin of 2.48%.The firm had revenue of $384.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $368.64 million. As a group, analysts predict that VNET Group, Inc. - Unsponsored ADR will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at VNET Group

In other news, Director David Lifeng Chen sold 83,544 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.51, for a total transaction of $126,151.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 334,164 shares in the company, valued at $504,587.64. This trade represents a 20.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 12.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of VNET Group by 3.0% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 37,602 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 1,098 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in VNET Group by 26.8% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,495 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,160 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in VNET Group by 6.1% in the third quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 21,491 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in VNET Group by 52.2% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,157 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,426 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in VNET Group by 14.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 11,446 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,446 shares during the period. 72.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VNET Group Company Profile

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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