ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. experienced a dramatic increase in short interest in July, rising to 13,130,000 shares, a staggering 6,564,900% increase from June's total of 200 shares.
• The stock's current short-interest ratio is 5.4 days based on an average daily volume of 2,420,000 shares, with approximately 2.2% of the company's stock sold short.
• Analyst ratings have been mixed, with JPMorgan upgrading the stock to "overweight" while HSBC and Citigroup made adjustments to their target prices, resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $21.76.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 13,130,000 shares, agrowthof6,564,900.0% from the June 30th total of 200 shares. Approximately2.2% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,420,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.4 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,420,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.4 days. Approximately2.2% of the company's stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ZTO. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 106.4% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,288 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 70.8% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,132 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 884 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 986.2% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,856 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 3,501 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 443,600.0% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 4,437 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 4,436 shares during the period. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. increased its stake in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 47.0% in the first quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 10,101 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $200,000 after acquiring an additional 3,229 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America lowered shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from $26.40 to $22.60 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, HSBC raised shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $22.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.76.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTO traded down $0.75 on Tuesday, hitting $19.74. 812,313 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,567,515. The company's 50 day moving average price is $18.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.80. ZTO Express has a one year low of $16.34 and a one year high of $27.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.48, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of -0.18.

About ZTO Express (Cayman)

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc provides express delivery and other value-added logistics services in the People's Republic of China. It offers freight forwarding services; and delivery services for e-commerce and traditional merchants, and other express service users. The company was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People's Republic of China.