New Oriental Education & Technology Group (NYSE:EDU) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Shares of New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (NYSE:EDU) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $48.04, but opened at $51.14. New Oriental Education & Technology Group shares last traded at $50.50, with a volume of 355,338 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on EDU shares. StockNews.com lowered New Oriental Education & Technology Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup downgraded shares of New Oriental Education & Technology Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $83.00 to $50.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of New Oriental Education & Technology Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $83.00 to $52.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Macquarie cut shares of New Oriental Education & Technology Group from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $79.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered New Oriental Education & Technology Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $85.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.20.

New Oriental Education & Technology Group Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $8.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.60 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $52.18 and its 200-day moving average is $59.69.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On New Oriental Education & Technology Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of New Oriental Education & Technology Group by 192.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 826,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,703,000 after acquiring an additional 543,810 shares during the last quarter. Monolith Management Ltd acquired a new position in New Oriental Education & Technology Group in the third quarter valued at $15,168,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its holdings in shares of New Oriental Education & Technology Group by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 592,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,940,000 after purchasing an additional 19,401 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in New Oriental Education & Technology Group by 12.9% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 99,858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,573,000 after buying an additional 11,423 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in New Oriental Education & Technology Group during the third quarter worth approximately $27,425,000.

About New Oriental Education & Technology Group

New Oriental Education & Technology Group, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of private educational services. It operates through the following segments: Educational Services and Test Preparation Courses, Private Label Products and Livestreaming E-Commerce, Overseas Study Consulting Services, and Educational Materials and Distribution.