Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $30.11, but opened at $32.02. Autohome shares last traded at $31.56, with a volume of 399,140 shares traded.

The information services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. Autohome had a return on equity of 7.79% and a net margin of 24.36%. The business had revenue of $244.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $243.26 million.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Autohome from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Autohome to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Autohome

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ATHM. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in shares of Autohome by 140.5% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,718,761 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $44,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004,043 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Autohome in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,195,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Autohome by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,388,268 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $165,776,000 after acquiring an additional 415,515 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Autohome by 106.2% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 683,144 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $22,284,000 after acquiring an additional 351,789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G PLC grew its holdings in shares of Autohome by 9.6% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 3,384,865 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $111,701,000 after acquiring an additional 296,107 shares in the last quarter. 63.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Autohome Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.89 and a beta of 0.18.

About Autohome

Autohome Inc operates as an online destination for automobile consumers in the People’s Republic of China. The company delivers interactive content and tools to automobile consumers through its three websites, autohome.com.cn, che168.com, and ttpai.cn on PCs, mobile devices, mobile applications, and mini apps.