Vipshop (NYSE:VIPS) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Vipshop Holdings Limited (NYSE:VIPS) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after StockNews.com downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The stock had previously closed at $13.54, but opened at $13.20. Vipshop shares last traded at $13.26, with a volume of 442,283 shares traded.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on VIPS. CLSA downgraded Vipshop from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $15.80 to $12.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Barclays started coverage on Vipshop in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Vipshop from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vipshop in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Vipshop from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vipshop has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vipshop

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Vipshop by 1,904.0% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,527 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 3,351 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vipshop in the 3rd quarter worth $56,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas raised its position in Vipshop by 143.2% during the second quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 4,614 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 2,717 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new position in Vipshop during the second quarter valued at $136,000. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Vipshop by 6.8% in the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,050 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the period. 48.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vipshop Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $14.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.42. The firm has a market cap of $7.18 billion, a PE ratio of 6.33, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.34.

Vipshop (NYSE:VIPS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The technology company reported $3.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $3.43. The business had revenue of $25.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.61 billion. Vipshop had a return on equity of 21.04% and a net margin of 7.50%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Vipshop Holdings Limited will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

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.