Yirendai slides as Morgan Stanley steps to sidelines
25/06/2018 15:05
** U.S.-listed shares of China-based online finance co
Yirendai Ltd YRD.N slid more than 10 pct early Mon after
Morgan Stanley demotes to "equal-weight" from "overweight," cuts
PT to $23.60 from $43
** Stock currently down 9.4 pct at $20.47, among top
percentage losers on the NYSE
** Lead analyst Richard Xu says new Beijing regulations
capping P2P loan balances combined with "volatile industry
delinquency rates" could lead to further earnings uncertainty
** Believes that while YRD could achieve its 2018 loan
growth guidance, regulation could affect co's volume growth in
2019 and beyond
** On Jun 11, YRD announced $20 mln share repurchase program
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nPn8TJX9da
** On May 24 YRD reported Q1 adj EPS of 72 cents, worse than
the 99 cents/sh analysts expected urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nPn3Z2yMya; its only
earnings miss in the last 8 qtrs, per Thomson Reuters data
** Of 10 analysts covering YRD, 6 rate co "buy" or stronger,
3 recommend "hold" and 1 "sell"; median PT $37.50
** Co's ADR has lost more than half its value so far this
year
(Reporting by Stephen Culp)
((stephen.culp@thomsonreuters.com; 646-223-6076;))