Noah Holdings Limited (NOAH) saw its shares soar Thursday on heavy volume.
Shares of the China-based wealth management provider rose by 7.2% to close the trading day at $21.63 with more than 2.7 million shares trading hands. This compares to the company's average trading volume of 334,000 shares.
As you can see from the chart below, NOAH shares have been on a tear since early October, rising more than 79.3% since October 1, 2014.
The catalyst behind the recent move higher is most certainly based on a technical signal called “Strong on High Relative Volume,” which is used to identify stocks with major volume moves.
You see, significant volume moves often indicate underlying activity such as analyst upgrades, insider buying, or stock purchases by hedge funds and momentum traders.
This activity is frequently a strong signal of the start of a trend from which early investors can capitalize, but is also a trend that can run its course in a relatively short time.
So, the question for fundamental investors is whether NOAH is a solid stock pick aside from the technical indicator above.
Superb Financials
Even a cursory look at the company's financials shows the NOAH is a well-run company.
It has demonstrated strength in multiple areas, such as its hefty revenue growth, sturdy record of EPS growth, and profit margins.
In its Q3 2014 release, Noah Holdings reported net revenue of $62.9 million, a 51% increase over the same period one year ago.
In addition, income from operations came in at $22.9 million, a 34.6% increase over the Q3 2013 numbers.
While the company did experience a decrease in its operating margin, falling from 41% in Q3 2013 to 36.4% in the most recent quarter, the decrease hasn't hurt the company's bottom line.
Net income attributable to shareholders was $17.9 million, a 28% increase over Q3 2013. This translated to diluted earnings per share of $0.32.
Over the past fiscal year, NOAH has increased its bottom line, growing to $0.93 from $0.42 in 2013. Better still, the company expects FY 2014 earnings to reach $1.26.
