Why Bitauto Shares Popped

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 Bitauto Holdings rose by as much as 25% during intraday trading after the Chinese automotive marketing specialist released unaudited second-quarter earnings.

So what: Revenue in the second quarter rose 36.5% year over year to $55.1 million. That resulted in a non-GAAP profit of $9.6 million, or $0.22 per share, good for a 105.8% increase over the same year-ago period.

With last quarter's plunge still fresh in their minds, investors applauded the results as both numbers exceeded the company's own previously announced guidance.

Now what: Once again, the company's core bitauto.com advertising and EP platform segments remained the strongest revenue drivers, growing 45.7% and 45.2%, respectively. Bitauto CEO William Li added, "We are encouraged by these results, which reflect the continuing ability of our products and services to respond to the changing needs of automakers and auto dealers."

Going forward, the company expects to continue its growth streak with third-quarter revenue in the range of $57.8 million to $59.5 million, or a year-over-year increase between 28.4% and 32%, and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share around $0.25.

As it stands, even as the stock approaches its 52-week-high, it's hard to argue it's overvalued, trading around 30.38 times trailing earnings and 15.3 times next year's estimates.

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The article Why Bitauto Shares Popped originally appeared on Fool.com.

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