JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) Upgraded at Arete Research

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

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on JD. HSBC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $37.00 price target on shares of JD.com in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of JD.com from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of JD.com in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Nomura boosted their price objective on shares of JD.com from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of JD.com from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.86.

JD.com Price Performance

Shares of JD stock traded up $0.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $31.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,416,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,441,315. JD.com has a 1-year low of $24.51 and a 1-year high of $38.08. The company has a market cap of $45.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.12, a PEG ratio of 9.08 and a beta of 0.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $28.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.22.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of JD.com by 106.7% in the 3rd quarter. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. now owns 215,000 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,521,000 after buying an additional 111,000 shares during the last quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. grew its position in shares of JD.com by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. now owns 269,504 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $9,427,000 after purchasing an additional 53,223 shares in the last quarter. Patient Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of JD.com by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Patient Capital Management LLC now owns 842,937 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $29,486,000 after buying an additional 53,810 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of JD.com by 148.4% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 261,269 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $9,392,000 after buying an additional 156,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Todd Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in JD.com by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 1,116,629 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $39,060,000 after acquiring an additional 85,331 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.