Arete Research Upgrades JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) to Buy

JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) was upgraded by equities researchers at Arete Research from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on JD. Wall Street Zen lowered JD.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of JD.com in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Nomura raised their price target on JD.com from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on JD.com from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on JD.com from $34.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.21.

JD.com Price Performance

JD opened at $31.60 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.91. JD.com has a 1 year low of $24.51 and a 1 year high of $38.08. The firm has a market cap of $45.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a PEG ratio of 8.91 and a beta of 0.36.

JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The information services provider reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. JD.com had a return on equity of 7.56% and a net margin of 1.48%.The business had revenue of $50.35 billion for the quarter. As a group, analysts predict that JD.com will post 3.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On JD.com

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of JD. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in JD.com by 139.0% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,334,816 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $128,181,000 after buying an additional 2,521,045 shares during the period. SIH Partners LLLP lifted its holdings in JD.com by 74.1% in the 4th quarter. SIH Partners LLLP now owns 4,991,448 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $143,255,000 after buying an additional 2,125,212 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in JD.com in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,741,000. Syquant Capital Sas purchased a new stake in JD.com in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,323,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of JD.com by 1,172.2% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,234,636 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $35,434,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137,592 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.98% of the company’s stock.

JD.com Company Profile

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.