GDS (NASDAQ:GDS) Lowered to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

GDS (NASDAQ:GDS) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of GDS from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $64.00 price objective on shares of GDS in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of GDS from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, GDS has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.90.

GDS Stock Down 3.1%

NASDAQ:GDS opened at $40.41 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $7.86 billion, a PE ratio of 77.71 and a beta of 0.46. GDS has a twelve month low of $22.53 and a twelve month high of $48.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The company’s 50 day moving average is $42.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.94.

GDS (NASDAQ:GDS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $1.56. The company had revenue of $426.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $436.44 million. GDS had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 8.79%. Analysts anticipate that GDS will post 1.16 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GDS

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sachem Head Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of GDS by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP now owns 9,300,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,570,000 after purchasing an additional 2,885,000 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of GDS by 77.7% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 7,004,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,115,000 after purchasing an additional 3,062,658 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its stake in shares of GDS by 35.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 4,258,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,810,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104,756 shares during the period. Triata Capital Ltd lifted its stake in shares of GDS by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Triata Capital Ltd now owns 2,974,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,803,000 after purchasing an additional 566,345 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of GDS by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,177,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,723,000 after purchasing an additional 442,414 shares during the period. 33.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About GDS

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.