E-House Shares Plunged: What You Need to Know (EJ)

E-House Shares Plunged: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Chinese real-estate services specialist E-House (China) Holdings (NYSE: EJ ) sank 10% in intraday trading Monday on above-average volume.

So what: E-House shares are flirting with new 52-week lows and have fallen a nasty 55% over the past nine months alone. There doesn't seem to be any specific news driving today's move, but given the global financial fears fueling the broader market sell-off, it's natural that that the highly volatile Chinese penny stock is experiencing some extra pain.

Now what: While it might be tempting to bet on E-House for a short-term bounce, the stock remains a questionable long-term opportunity. Specifically, it's tough to get comfortable with the company's low single-digit returns on equity, P/E of about 30, and worrisome exposure to China's bubbly real estate market. If you're looking for a way to get into the space, U.S. counterparts CB Richard Ellis (NYSE: CBG ) and Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE: JLL ) might be safer ways to play.

Interested in more info on E-House? Add it to your watchlist.

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Fool contributor Brian Pacampara owns no position in any of the companies mentioned. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Jones Lang LaSalle. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Fool's disclosure policy always gets a perfect score.

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