Morgan Stanley analyst Eddy Wang expects a decline in JD.com’s (NASDAQ:JD) stock price within the next 30 days. Wang maintained a Hold rating on the shares of this Chinese e-commerce company. The analyst’s price target of $27 implies a 6.1% upside potential over the next 12 months.
JD.com recently disclosed that it bought back 87.5 million Class A ordinary shares (equal to 43.8 million ADSs or American Depository Shares) for $1.2 billion in the first quarter of 2024. These share repurchases were made on the NASDAQ and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Further, the repurchased stocks accounted for about 2.8% of its overall outstanding shares as of December 31, 2023.
Blackout Period Could Impact the Stock
According to Wang, JD.com’s share buybacks constituted approximately 11% of the company’s trading volume from March 8 to 31. This significant volume bolstered its share price performance. Over this period, JD.com’s stock jumped 10.7%, surpassing PDD Holdings’ (NASDAQ:PDD) gain of 5.4%. Meanwhile, Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) stock dipped by 1.6% during the same timeframe.
However, the analyst noted that the company is in a blackout period ahead of its Q1 results, scheduled for mid-May, and will not be able to repurchase shares. This could result in a decline in volume and price.
Is JD.com Stock a Buy or Sell?
JD.com stock has declined more than 29% over the past year. Despite this notable decline, analysts are cautiously optimistic about its prospects. It has nine Buy and five Hold recommendations for a Moderate Buy consensus rating.
The analysts’ average price target on JD stock is $37.97, implying 49.14% upside potential from current levels.
