Vipshop (NYSE:VIPS) Given New $18.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Vipshop (NYSE:VIPS) had its price target upped by Citigroup from $15.00 to $18.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on VIPS. CLSA lowered shares of Vipshop from an outperform rating to a hold rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $15.80 to $12.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Vipshop from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com raised Vipshop from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, UBS Group lowered Vipshop from a buy rating to a neutral rating and reduced their price target for the company from $20.00 to $12.50 in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $17.42.

Vipshop Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VIPS opened at $15.74 on Friday. Vipshop has a one year low of $11.50 and a one year high of $20.19. The company has a market cap of $8.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.32 and a beta of 0.33. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.80.

Vipshop (NYSE:VIPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The technology company reported $3.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $3.43. Vipshop had a return on equity of 22.51% and a net margin of 7.52%. The company had revenue of $25.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. Vipshop’s revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Vipshop will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vipshop

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIPS. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vipshop during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Vipshop by 1,904.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,527 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 3,351 shares in the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in shares of Vipshop by 143.2% in the 2nd quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 4,614 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 2,717 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in shares of Vipshop in the 2nd quarter worth about $136,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new position in Vipshop in the 1st quarter valued at about $189,000. 48.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Vipshop

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.