Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

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

Autohome Price Performance

Shares of ATHM opened at $22.37 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.08 and a beta of 0.36. Autohome has a one year low of $15.57 and a one year high of $25.22. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.04.

Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The information services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $196.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $189.93 million. Autohome had a return on equity of 4.00% and a net margin of 14.23%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.45 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Autohome will post 1.20 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Autohome news, CTO Bibo Xiang sold 5,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.29, for a total transaction of $29,560.52. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 56,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $300,366.20. This represents a 8.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Quan Long sold 34,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.29, for a total value of $181,976.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 175,984 shares in the company, valued at $930,955.36. The trade was a 16.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,304 shares of company stock valued at $260,818. 5.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Autohome

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in Autohome by 35.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 71,514 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 18,891 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Autohome in the 3rd quarter valued at about $12,420,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Autohome during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,293,000. Oldfield Partners LLP grew its position in shares of Autohome by 20.3% during the 2nd quarter. Oldfield Partners LLP now owns 49,800 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $948,000 after buying an additional 8,400 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Autohome by 159.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 364,818 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,337,000 after buying an additional 224,318 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.08% of the company’s stock.

About Autohome

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.