JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Arete Research

JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) was downgraded by analysts at Arete Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $30.00 price target on the information services provider’s stock. Arete Research’s target price points to a potential upside of 8.38% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also commented on JD. Mizuho set a $39.00 price target on shares of JD.com in a report on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of JD.com from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of JD.com from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Daiwa Securities Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of JD.com in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of JD.com in a report on Friday, August 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.25.

JD.com Price Performance

Shares of JD.com stock opened at $27.68 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.22 and a beta of 0.35. JD.com has a one year low of $24.51 and a one year high of $36.86.

JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The information services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $50.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.38 billion. JD.com had a return on equity of 6.78% and a net margin of 1.13%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that JD.com will post 2.83 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of JD.com

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NFJ Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of JD.com by 61.8% during the 4th quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC now owns 699,518 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $20,076,000 after acquiring an additional 267,159 shares during the last quarter. Monaco Asset Management SAM lifted its position in JD.com by 60.0% during the fourth quarter. Monaco Asset Management SAM now owns 160,000 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,592,000 after purchasing an additional 60,000 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in JD.com by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,545,460 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $44,346,000 after purchasing an additional 70,062 shares during the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD boosted its holdings in JD.com by 1,900.0% in the fourth quarter. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD now owns 120,000 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,444,000 after purchasing an additional 114,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in JD.com by 19.2% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 197,087 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,828,000 after purchasing an additional 31,693 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.98% of the company’s stock.

About JD.com

JD.com is a major Chinese e-commerce company that operates a comprehensive online retail platform selling a wide range of consumer goods, including electronics, appliances, apparel, groceries and everyday household items. The company combines direct retailing—purchasing inventory and selling products itself—with a marketplace for third-party merchants, offering consumers both self-operated and third-party choices. In addition to its core retail business, JD.com has expanded into adjacent services such as digital marketplaces for cross-border commerce, online pharmacy and healthcare services, and enterprise-facing cloud and technology solutions.

A distinctive feature of JD.com’s business model is its integrated logistics and fulfillment network.