Traders Buy High Volume of Vipshop Put Options (NYSE:VIPS)

Vipshop Holdings Limited (NYSE:VIPS) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 6,624 put options on the company. This is an increase of 379% compared to the average daily volume of 1,384 put options.

Vipshop Trading Up 5.1 %

Shares of NYSE VIPS traded up $0.77 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $15.91. The company had a trading volume of 3,917,565 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,670,917. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $14.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.00. The company has a market capitalization of $8.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.30. Vipshop has a 1 year low of $11.50 and a 1 year high of $20.19.

Vipshop (NYSE:VIPS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.82 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vipshop will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Vipshop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. Vipshop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vipshop

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hhlr Advisors LTD. boosted its holdings in shares of Vipshop by 6.2% in the third quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 15,720,322 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $247,281,000 after buying an additional 914,322 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Vipshop by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,961,402 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $188,060,000 after acquiring an additional 79,254 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Vipshop by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 11,107,555 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $149,619,000 after purchasing an additional 139,320 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Vipshop by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,063,150 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $108,608,000 after purchasing an additional 993,042 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Vipshop by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,759,150 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $104,516,000 after purchasing an additional 1,718,159 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 48.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on VIPS shares. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Vipshop in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of Vipshop from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup cut their price target on Vipshop from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Vipshop from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.64.

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.