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

Arete Research lowered shares of JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Arete Research currently has $30.00 price objective on the information services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on JD. Daiwa Securities Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of JD.com in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on JD.com from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Nomura boosted their price objective on JD.com from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of JD.com in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Zacks Research cut JD.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.25.

JD.com Price Performance

JD.com stock opened at $27.68 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.14. JD.com has a 1 year low of $24.51 and a 1 year high of $36.86. The company has a market capitalization of $34.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22 and a beta of 0.35.

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

Institutional Trading of JD.com

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JD. Synergy Financial Group LTD grew its stake in JD.com by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Synergy Financial Group LTD now owns 8,763 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Financial increased its holdings in JD.com by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 14,210 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $420,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the period. Texas Yale Capital Corp. raised its position in JD.com by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 14,008 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Prelude Capital Management LLC raised its position in JD.com by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Prelude Capital Management LLC now owns 40,403 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,413,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anchyra Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of JD.com by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Anchyra Partners LLC now owns 7,413 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the period. 15.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.