Sanford C. Bernstein Initiates Coverage on Coupang (NYSE:CPNG)

Investment analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Coupang (NYSE:CPNG) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an “underperform” rating and a $17.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s price target would indicate a potential downside of 4.06% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coupang from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Coupang in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Coupang from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of Coupang from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Coupang in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.63.

Coupang Stock Up 5.5%

CPNG stock opened at $17.72 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.67 and a 200-day moving average of $27.58. Coupang has a fifty-two week low of $16.74 and a fifty-two week high of $34.08. The company has a market capitalization of $32.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.38 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Coupang (NYSE:CPNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.13 billion. Coupang had a net margin of 1.16% and a return on equity of 6.95%. The company’s revenue was up 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Coupang will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Jonathan D. Lee sold 2,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.62, for a total transaction of $63,277.98. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 122,096 shares in the company, valued at $2,883,907.52. This trade represents a 2.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 12.78% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coupang

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Coupang by 343.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,595,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $920,786,000 after acquiring an additional 22,147,432 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Coupang in the second quarter valued at $587,186,000. Eminence Capital LP purchased a new position in Coupang during the 2nd quarter valued at $204,840,000. Dodge & Cox raised its holdings in Coupang by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 46,614,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,396,571,000 after purchasing an additional 5,829,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Coupang by 198.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,510,247 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,430,000 after purchasing an additional 3,666,227 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.72% of the company’s stock.

Coupang News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Coupang this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/valuation pieces argue Coupang may be underpriced versus intrinsic value — discussion of DCF upside and a note that the company’s growth engine remains intact despite near‑term uncertainty could support longer‑term upside. Is Coupang Pricing Reflect Its Slide Despite DCF Suggesting Upside Potential
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage noting that Coupang’s core growth drivers remain intact, framing current weakness as temporary and a potential buying opportunity for longer‑term investors. Coupang’s Growth Engine Remains Intact Despite Temporary Uncertainty
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple plaintiff firms are issuing notices about lead‑plaintiff deadlines in recently filed securities suits (procedural reminders that expand plaintiff participation but are not court rulings). These alerts increase headline volume but are an early‑stage legal development. CPNG Investors Have Opportunity to Lead Coupang, Inc. Securities Fraud Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. House Judiciary Committee has subpoenaed Coupang as part of an investigation into alleged discrimination and communications with the South Korean government — a regulatory probe that raises policy and reputational risk. US House panel issues subpoena to Coupang
• Negative Sentiment: Several shareholder‑rights firms (Johnson Fistel, Hagens Berman, Levi & Korsinsky, others) are investigating or have filed securities class actions tied to a late‑2025 data breach and alleged disclosure delays — ongoing litigation/investigations create legal costs, management distraction, and uncertainty. Johnson Fistel Investigates Data Breach Disclosures Hagens Berman Alert
• Negative Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage with an “underperform” rating and a $17 price target — a fresh bearish institutional view that may pressure sentiment and impact short‑term flows. Bernstein initiates with Underperform

About Coupang

Coupang, listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker CPNG, is a South Korean e-commerce company headquartered in Seoul. Founded in 2010 by Bom Kim, the company grew rapidly by combining an online marketplace with a large direct-retail business model. Coupang completed a primary listing in the United States in 2021, and it has become one of South Korea’s leading online retailers by focusing on convenience, speed and a wide product assortment across consumer categories.

The company operates a vertically integrated e-commerce platform that includes a customer-facing marketplace and an extensive logistics and fulfillment network.