Vipshop Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:VIPS)

Vipshop Holdings Limited (NYSE:VIPS) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors bought 5,564 call options on the company. This is an increase of 115% compared to the average volume of 2,588 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in shares of Vipshop by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 15,976 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Vipshop by 0.9% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 99,737 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,651,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Vipshop by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 16,007 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 969 shares during the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Vipshop by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,248 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maple Brown Abbott Ltd raised its stake in Vipshop by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd now owns 29,314 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 48.82% of the company’s stock.

Vipshop Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of VIPS stock opened at $17.44 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.83. The company has a market cap of $9.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.05 and a beta of 0.34. Vipshop has a 12-month low of $11.50 and a 12-month high of $20.19.

Vipshop (NYSE:VIPS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The technology company reported $3.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $3.43. The business had revenue of $25.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.61 billion. Vipshop had a net margin of 7.52% and a return on equity of 22.51%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vipshop will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. CLSA cut Vipshop from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $15.80 to $12.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Vipshop from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Vipshop from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Vipshop from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $12.50 in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Vipshop from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.42.

Vipshop Company Profile

Vipshop Holdings Limited operates online platforms in the People's Republic of China. It operates in Vip.com, Shan Shan Outlets, and Others segments. The company offers womenswear, menswear, sportswear and sporting goods, shoes and bags, accessories, baby and children products, skincare and cosmetics, home goods and other lifestyle products, and supermarket products.