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 E-House (China) Holdings Limited (ADR) (NYSE: EJ) rose throughout the day and closed more than 12% higher than yesterday's close, after the Chinese real-estate company trounced Wall Street's expectations and projected a better fiscal year than it had previously anticipated.
So what: E-House reported a 40% year-over-year rise in revenue to $163.3 million, which was far ahead of analysts' $138.7 million consensus, and its $0.08 in earnings per share were double the $0.04 analysts had expected. As a result of the strong quarter, E-House raised its full-year guidance from a range of $880 million to $900 million to a range of $910 million to $930 million, which is ahead of the $899.6 million Wall Street had sought.
These results come despite "softness in certain cities with weak transaction volumes," conditions that are expected to persist through the year. E-House CEO Xin Zhou doesn't expect this weak patch to hurt his business, as the company "will continue to adapt to the changing market conditions," and these adaptations included the recent spinoff of online-to-offline real-estate services subsidiary Leju Holdings (LEJU 28.00%) as an ADR this past month.
Now what: E-House has been on a wild ride over the past year, with shares gaining nearly 250% from the middle of 2013 to this past March before crashing hard. However, investors still have a double on their hands, and E-House's earnings and revenue are both surging again after enduring a lousy 2011 and 2012. The company's P/E is also at one of its lowest levels in years, and analysts expect the company to post double-digit growth (roughly 25% per year) for the next five years. With all this good news on its side, E-House certainly seems to deserve a closer look today.
