Noah (NYSE:NOAH) Shares Gap Up to $10.17

Noah Holdings Limited (NYSE:NOAH) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $10.17, but opened at $11.00. Noah shares last traded at $11.14, with a volume of 90,800 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Noah from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $13.00 in a report on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Noah from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st.

Noah Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $8.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.31. The company has a market capitalization of $746.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.27 and a beta of 0.76.

Noah (NYSE:NOAH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The asset manager reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $84.74 million during the quarter. Noah had a net margin of 26.81% and a return on equity of 7.15%. Analysts anticipate that Noah Holdings Limited will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Noah announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the asset manager to reacquire up to 10.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Noah

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NOAH. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Noah in the second quarter valued at $615,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Noah by 50.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 255,606 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,472,000 after purchasing an additional 85,771 shares during the last quarter. JBF Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Noah during the second quarter worth about $106,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Noah by 52.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 89,904 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $868,000 after buying an additional 30,810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Davis Selected Advisers raised its position in shares of Noah by 121.7% in the second quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 1,681,650 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $16,228,000 after buying an additional 923,122 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.67% of the company’s stock.

About Noah

Noah Holdings Limited, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a wealth and asset management service provider with the focus on investment and asset allocation services for high net worth individuals and enterprises in Mainland of China, Hong Kong, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Wealth Management, Asset Management, and Other Services.