Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

ATHM has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $26.50 price target on shares of Autohome in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Bank of America downgraded Autohome from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $19.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered Autohome from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Autohome from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.95.

Autohome Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ATHM opened at $21.58 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $21.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.34 and a beta of 0.36. Autohome has a 1 year low of $15.57 and a 1 year high of $25.22.

Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The information services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.07. Autohome had a net margin of 14.23% and a return on equity of 4.07%. The company had revenue of $196.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.93 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Autohome will post 1.20 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO Bibo Xiang sold 5,588 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.29, for a total value of $29,560.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 56,780 shares in the company, valued at $300,366.20. This represents a 8.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Craig Yan Zeng sold 9,316 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.29, for a total transaction of $49,281.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 160,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $849,700.96. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 49,304 shares of company stock valued at $260,818 in the last three months. 5.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Autohome in the 3rd quarter worth about $12,420,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Autohome in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,293,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Autohome by 19.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 370,108 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,424,000 after buying an additional 60,511 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Autohome in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,418,000. Finally, ABN Amro Investment Solutions lifted its position in shares of Autohome by 47.6% during the 1st quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 308,171 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,353,000 after buying an additional 99,422 shares in the last quarter. 63.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Autohome Company Profile

Autohome Inc. operates online platforms focused on the automotive market in China. Through its websites and mobile applications, the company connects consumers with vehicle information and automotive businesses. Its platforms provide car reviews, news, model specifications, pricing information, photos, videos and user discussions. Autohome also offers automakers and dealers advertising, marketing, customer-lead generation and data services. Founded in 2005, Autohome serves consumers and automotive businesses across China.