Editor's Note: Any reference to TheStreet Ratings and its underlying recommendation does not reflect the opinion of TheStreet, Inc. or any of its contributors including Jim Cramer or Stephanie Link. NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- Bitauto Holdings (NYSE: BITA) has been upgraded by TheStreet Ratings from hold to buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, notable return on equity, reasonable valuation levels and solid stock price performance. Although no company is perfect, currently we do not see any significant weaknesses which are likely to detract from the generally positive outlook.
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- The revenue growth came in higher than the industry average of 9.3%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues rose by 38.8%. Growth in the company's revenue appears to have helped boost the earnings per share.
- BITA has no debt to speak of therefore resulting in a debt-to-equity ratio of zero, which we consider to be a relatively favorable sign. Along with this, the company maintains a quick ratio of 2.56, which clearly demonstrates the ability to cover short-term cash needs.
- Current return on equity exceeded its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a clear sign of strength within the company. Compared to other companies in the Internet Software & Services industry and the overall market, BITAUTO HOLDINGS LTD -ADR's return on equity exceeds that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.
- Powered by its strong earnings growth of 115.38% and other important driving factors, this stock has surged by 360.88% over the past year, outperforming the rise in the S&P 500 Index during the same period. Regarding the stock's future course, although almost any stock can fall in a broad market decline, BITA should continue to move higher despite the fact that it has already enjoyed a very nice gain in the past year.
