Short Interest in Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM) Expands By 12.2%

Autohome Inc. (NYSE:ATHM) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,030,000 shares, a growth of 12.2% from the August 31st total of 1,810,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 507,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Autohome Trading Up 2.6 %

ATHM traded up $0.84 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $33.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 695,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 483,305. The stock has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 0.15. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $25.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.56. Autohome has a 12 month low of $21.89 and a 12 month high of $33.83.

Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The information services provider reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $4.12. The firm had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. Autohome had a net margin of 25.81% and a return on equity of 8.19%. The business’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Autohome will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Autohome announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, September 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Autohome

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Autohome during the second quarter worth $28,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Autohome by 99.4% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,318 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 657 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its position in Autohome by 88.9% during the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,700 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Autohome by 24.2% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 4,676 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 912 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in shares of Autohome by 93.9% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 5,397 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $146,000 after acquiring an additional 2,614 shares in the last quarter. 63.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on ATHM shares. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $28.00 price target (down from $31.00) on shares of Autohome in a report on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Autohome from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Benchmark cut Autohome from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th.

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.