GDS (NASDAQ:GDS) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

GDS Holdings (NASDAQ:GDS) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $30.41, but opened at $31.87. GDS shares last traded at $31.7750, with a volume of 260,432 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of GDS from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $64.00 target price on shares of GDS in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Piper Sandler set a $36.00 price target on shares of GDS in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of GDS from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of GDS from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $48.04.

GDS Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 1.87. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $35.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.79. The company has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.89 and a beta of 0.41.

GDS (NASDAQ:GDS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 15th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $1.56. The business had revenue of $426.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $436.44 million. GDS had a return on equity of 15.62% and a net margin of 23.83%.GDS’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.47 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that GDS Holdings will post 5.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at GDS

In related news, Director Judy Qing Ye sold 37,394 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.21, for a total transaction of $1,354,036.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Yixin Qian sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.25, for a total transaction of $352,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 66,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,356,991.25. This represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 7.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GDS

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GDS. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of GDS by 30.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 379,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,608,000 after purchasing an additional 89,059 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in GDS during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in GDS during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in GDS by 113.0% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 974 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in GDS by 41.6% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.71% of the company’s stock.

GDS Company Profile

GDS Holdings Limited, founded in 2001 and headquartered in Shanghai, is a leading network-neutral data center services provider in China. The company operates a portfolio of state-of-the-art data center facilities designed to support the mission-critical IT infrastructure of cloud service providers, internet enterprises, financial institutions, and government entities. GDS was among the first Chinese providers to offer high-density colocation solutions, catering to customers with demanding computing and storage requirements.

GDS specializes in delivering scalable colocation, cross-connect, and interconnection services within its facilities, enabling clients to establish high-speed, low-latency connections to major cloud platforms and internet exchange points.