VNET Group (NASDAQ:VNET) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

VNET Group (NASDAQ:VNET) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on VNET. Zacks Research raised shares of VNET Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of VNET Group in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $24.79 price objective on shares of VNET Group in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of VNET Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Bank of America set a $16.30 target price on shares of VNET Group and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, VNET Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.03.

VNET Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VNET opened at $7.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.58 and a beta of 0.25. The business’s 50 day moving average is $9.29 and its 200-day moving average is $9.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.99. VNET Group has a 1-year low of $6.07 and a 1-year high of $14.48.

VNET Group (NASDAQ:VNET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 26th. The information technology services provider reported ($1.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by ($1.17). VNET Group had a negative net margin of 22.01% and a negative return on equity of 31.59%. The firm had revenue of $390.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $388.47 million. Equities research analysts predict that VNET Group will post -0.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sean Shao sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.71, for a total value of $102,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 983,820 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,682,332.20. This trade represents a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 12.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VNET Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of VNET Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,650,000. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd raised its position in VNET Group by 988.7% during the fourth quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 3,253,150 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $27,522,000 after purchasing an additional 2,954,350 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in VNET Group by 674.8% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,343,088 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $23,067,000 after purchasing an additional 2,911,604 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in VNET Group by 83.3% during the third quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 5,489,120 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $56,703,000 after purchasing an additional 2,495,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in VNET Group by 1,750.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,502,622 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $21,172,000 after purchasing an additional 2,367,410 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.83% of the company’s stock.

VNET Group Company Profile

VNET Group, Inc (NASDAQ: VNET) is a leading carrier-neutral internet data center (IDC) services provider in China. Established in 1999 and headquartered in Beijing, the company delivers a full spectrum of infrastructure solutions that support the growing digital economy. Its core offerings include data center colocation, managed hosting, network connectivity, and disaster recovery services designed to meet the performance and reliability requirements of enterprise and internet content customers.

The company’s product portfolio spans private cloud, public cloud and hybrid cloud deployments, enabling clients to scale computing resources on demand.