Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) Stock Gets Downgrade from Wall Street Zen

Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

ATHM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Bank of America cut Autohome from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Zacks Research upgraded Autohome from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Autohome from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $26.50 price target on shares of Autohome in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.95.

Autohome Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:ATHM opened at $22.91 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37 and a beta of 0.36. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.04. Autohome has a twelve month low of $15.57 and a twelve month high of $25.22.

Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $196.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $189.93 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Autohome will post 1.20 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO Bibo Xiang sold 5,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.29, for a total transaction of $29,560.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 56,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $300,366.20. This trade represents a 8.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Craig Yan Zeng sold 9,316 shares of Autohome stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.29, for a total transaction of $49,281.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 160,624 shares in the company, valued at $849,700.96. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 49,304 shares of company stock worth $260,818. 5.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Autohome

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Autohome during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $12,420,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Autohome in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,293,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 60,511 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Autohome during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,418,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Autohome during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $5,714,000. 63.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Autohome Company Profile

Autohome Inc (NYSE: ATHM) operates an online automotive platform serving consumers, automobile manufacturers, dealers and other industry participants primarily in China. Through its websites and mobile applications, the company provides information and digital tools to help users research vehicles, compare models, read reviews, explore pricing and connect with sellers.

The company’s services include automotive news and editorial content, vehicle specifications, user-generated discussions, professional evaluations, sales-lead generation and online marketing solutions.