WeRide Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:WRD)

WeRide Inc. (NASDAQ:WRD) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors bought 9,143 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 245% compared to the typical volume of 2,648 call options.

WeRide Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WRD traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $6.13. 1,392,902 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,830,819. WeRide has a fifty-two week low of $6.01 and a fifty-two week high of $12.55. The stock has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.18 and a beta of 1.77. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $7.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.79.

WeRide (NASDAQ:WRD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported ($0.17) earnings per share for the quarter. WeRide had a negative return on equity of 24.18% and a negative net margin of 228.47%.The company had revenue of $16.55 million for the quarter. Equities research analysts predict that WeRide will post -0.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. China UAE Investment Cooperation Fund L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of WeRide in the 4th quarter valued at $67,443,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in WeRide by 55.3% during the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,621,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,770,000 after acquiring an additional 1,645,769 shares during the period. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. grew its position in WeRide by 198.5% in the 4th quarter. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. now owns 4,175,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,241,000 after acquiring an additional 2,776,381 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in WeRide by 4,926.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,595,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,086,000 after acquiring an additional 3,523,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Temasek Holdings Private Ltd increased its stake in WeRide by 119.7% during the fourth quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,978,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,856,000 after purchasing an additional 1,623,156 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WRD shares. HSBC initiated coverage on WeRide in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $11.40 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of WeRide in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings raised shares of WeRide from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Zacks Research lowered shares of WeRide from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of WeRide from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WeRide has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.48.

About WeRide

WeRide Inc (NASDAQ: WRD) is a developer of autonomous driving technology focused on providing Level 4 (L4) self-driving solutions for passenger mobility and logistics. The company’s full-stack platform integrates sensors, computing hardware, software algorithms and vehicle controls to enable driverless taxis, shuttles and goods delivery vehicles. By combining perception, planning and controls in a turnkey system, WeRide aims to accelerate the commercialization of robotaxi services and autonomous fleet operations.

Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Guangzhou, China, WeRide maintains research and development centers in Silicon Valley and China.