Short Interest in Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM) Drops By 15.8%

Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 941,558 shares, a drop of 15.8% from the March 31st total of 1,118,866 shares. Currently, 0.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 460,050 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Autohome Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:ATHM traded down $0.04 on Friday, reaching $18.60. The company had a trading volume of 244,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 502,621. Autohome has a 52-week low of $16.74 and a 52-week high of $29.92. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 11.34 and a beta of 0.26.

Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Sunday, February 15th. The information services provider reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Autohome had a return on equity of 5.94% and a net margin of 21.43%.The business had revenue of $208.96 million for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Autohome will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ATHM. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Autohome in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Autohome by 205.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112 shares in the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD boosted its position in shares of Autohome by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 2,711 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Autohome by 30.5% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,886 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Autohome by 141.7% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,222 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 1,889 shares in the last quarter. 63.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ATHM has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Autohome from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Autohome from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Autohome in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Autohome from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $28.00.

Autohome Company Profile

Autohome Inc (NYSE: ATHM) operates one of China’s leading online destinations for automobile consumers, offering a comprehensive suite of digital platforms and services throughout the vehicle ownership lifecycle. Headquartered in Beijing, the company’s core website and mobile applications deliver news, reviews, pricing information, photos, videos and interactive tools to help prospective buyers evaluate new and used vehicles. By aggregating rich editorial content with user-generated ratings and expert analyses, Autohome seeks to guide consumers through research, purchase and after-sales decision-making.

In addition to its consumer-facing properties, Autohome provides automakers, dealers and service providers with integrated digital marketing and e-commerce solutions.