Vipshop Holdings Limited (NYSE:VIPS) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Vipshop Holdings Limited (NYSE:VIPS) saw a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,730,000 shares, an increase of 42.2% from the February 28th total of 6,140,000 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,540,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vipshop

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Vipshop by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,972 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Vipshop during the fourth quarter valued at $161,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vipshop by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,241 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $165,000 after acquiring an additional 1,191 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Vipshop in the 4th quarter worth about $165,000. Finally, Polymer Capital Management HK LTD purchased a new position in shares of Vipshop during the 3rd quarter worth about $175,000. 48.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Vipshop from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vipshop from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vipshop presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.10.

Vipshop Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VIPS traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $16.11. 1,659,208 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,839,955. The company’s 50 day moving average is $15.51 and its 200 day moving average is $14.59. Vipshop has a one year low of $11.50 and a one year high of $17.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.27 billion, a PE ratio of 7.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.30.

Vipshop (NYSE:VIPS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The technology company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.05). Vipshop had a net margin of 7.50% and a return on equity of 20.89%. The business had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.82 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vipshop will post 1.95 EPS for the current year.

Vipshop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a yield of 2.9%. Vipshop’s payout ratio is currently 24.24%.

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.