ZTO Express (Cayman) Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:ZTO)

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 2,229 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 33% compared to the average volume of 1,682 call options.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Stock Down 7.5 %

ZTO stock traded down $1.63 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $20.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,634,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,073,684. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $19.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.99. The company has a market capitalization of $12.17 billion, a PE ratio of 13.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of -0.13. ZTO Express has a 12 month low of $17.89 and a 12 month high of $27.50.

ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 18th. The transportation company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.73 billion. ZTO Express (Cayman) had a return on equity of 15.44% and a net margin of 20.56%. Sell-side analysts expect that ZTO Express will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. HSBC lowered shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ZTO Express (Cayman) presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.78.

Institutional Trading of ZTO Express (Cayman)

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in ZTO Express (Cayman) in the 3rd quarter valued at $8,723,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,484,318 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $86,307,000 after purchasing an additional 317,450 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 112.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 187,114 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,635,000 after purchasing an additional 98,877 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in ZTO Express (Cayman) in the 3rd quarter valued at $12,407,000. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 10,282 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326 shares during the period. 41.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Company Profile

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc provides express delivery and other value-added logistics services in the People's Republic of China. It offers freight forwarding services; and delivery services for e-commerce and traditional merchants, and other express service users. The company was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People's Republic of China.