Lufax Holding Ltd. Sponsored ADR (NYSE:LU) Stock Short Interest Drops 92.4%

Lufax Holding Ltd. Sponsored ADR (NYSE:LU) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 30th, there was short interest totaling 428,038 shares, a drop of 92.4% from the October 15th total of 5,642,877 shares. Approximately 0.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 762,104 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.6 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LU. Barometer Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lufax by 7,538.6% during the first quarter. Barometer Capital Management Inc. now owns 534,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 527,700 shares in the last quarter. Ramsey Quantitative Systems acquired a new stake in shares of Lufax in the second quarter valued at about $199,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Lufax in the second quarter valued at about $157,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new stake in shares of Lufax during the 2nd quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, StoneX Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lufax during the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. 69.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lufax Trading Down 6.6%

LU stock traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $6.59. 472,056 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 354,322. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.69. Lufax has a fifty-two week low of $6.55 and a fifty-two week high of $32.10. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $10.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.37. The company has a market capitalization of $571.33 million, a P/E ratio of -1.47 and a beta of 0.80.

Lufax (NYSE:LU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported ($0.27) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.81 by ($11.08). The firm had revenue of $921.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Lufax will post -1.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LU shares. Deutsche Bank set a $14.00 price target on shares of Lufax and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Lufax from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $20.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lufax from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Lufax in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Lufax from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.00.

Lufax Company Profile

Lufax Holding Ltd. is a China-based financial technology company that provides technology-enabled financial services. Its platform connects individual and small-business borrowers with financial institutions and other funding partners, helping customers access credit and related services. The company also offers wealth management services, including access to investment products for retail customers. Lufax was established in 2011 as part of Ping An Insurance Group and has developed its business around China’s financial services market.