Coupang (NYSE:CPNG) Shares Gap Up on Insider Buying Activity

Coupang, Inc. (NYSE:CPNG)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $18.45, but opened at $19.68. Coupang shares last traded at $20.30, with a volume of 6,941,903 shares changing hands.

Specifically, Director Neil Mehta bought 2,332,863 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $18.40 per share, with a total value of $42,924,679.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 55,310,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,017,721,976.80. This trade represents a 4.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Neil Mehta purchased 3,000,000 shares of Coupang stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $18.68 per share, for a total transaction of $56,040,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 52,978,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $989,631,169.52. This represents a 6.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In other news, Director Neil Mehta purchased 2,017,241 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $18.64 per share, with a total value of $37,601,372.24. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 49,978,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $931,592,044.96. This represents a 4.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Coupang from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Coupang in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Coupang from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 2nd. UBS Group set a $25.00 price target on Coupang in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Coupang from $32.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.70.

Coupang Stock Up 10.8%

The firm has a market capitalization of $37.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 170.39 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $19.53 and its 200 day moving average is $25.66.

Coupang (NYSE:CPNG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.03). Coupang had a return on equity of 4.52% and a net margin of 0.60%.The firm had revenue of $8.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.04 EPS. Coupang’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Coupang, Inc. will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CPNG. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Coupang by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,215,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $361,128,000 after acquiring an additional 318,115 shares during the last quarter. TRB Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Coupang in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,863,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Coupang by 18.5% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 728,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,469,000 after purchasing an additional 113,950 shares in the last quarter. Rit Capital Partners PLC lifted its position in shares of Coupang by 3.5% in the third quarter. Rit Capital Partners PLC now owns 2,700,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,937,000 after purchasing an additional 91,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Coupang by 343.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,595,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $920,786,000 after purchasing an additional 22,147,432 shares during the last quarter. 83.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coupang Company Profile

Coupang, listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker CPNG, is a South Korean e-commerce company headquartered in Seoul. Founded in 2010 by Bom Kim, the company grew rapidly by combining an online marketplace with a large direct-retail business model. Coupang completed a primary listing in the United States in 2021, and it has become one of South Korea’s leading online retailers by focusing on convenience, speed and a wide product assortment across consumer categories.

The company operates a vertically integrated e-commerce platform that includes a customer-facing marketplace and an extensive logistics and fulfillment network.