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

Wall Street Zen downgraded 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.

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

Autohome Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:ATHM opened at $22.91 on Friday. Autohome has a twelve month low of $15.57 and a twelve month high of $25.22. The company has a 50-day moving average of $21.04 and a 200-day moving average of $20.04. The firm has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37 and a beta of 0.36.

Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The information services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $196.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $189.93 million. Autohome had a net margin of 14.23% and a return on equity of 4.07%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.45 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Autohome will post 1.20 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Autohome

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATHM. Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Autohome by 35.9% in the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 71,514 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,520,000 after buying an additional 18,891 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Autohome during the third quarter valued at $12,420,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Autohome during the second quarter valued at $5,293,000. Oldfield Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of Autohome by 20.3% during the second quarter. Oldfield Partners LLP now owns 49,800 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $948,000 after buying an additional 8,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Autohome by 159.7% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 364,818 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,337,000 after buying an additional 224,318 shares during the period. 63.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Autohome

Autohome Inc (NYSE: ATHM) operates an online automotive platform serving consumers, automobile manufacturers, dealers and other industry participants primarily in China. Through its websites and mobile applications, the company provides information and digital tools to help users research vehicles, compare models, read reviews, explore pricing and connect with sellers.

The company’s services include automotive news and editorial content, vehicle specifications, user-generated discussions, professional evaluations, sales-lead generation and online marketing solutions.