Weibo (NASDAQ:WB) Trading 3.7% Higher

Weibo Co. (NASDAQ:WB)’s share price rose 3.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $8.09 and last traded at $8.06. Approximately 222,995 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 2,287,278 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.77.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Weibo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Bank of America downgraded Weibo from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $19.50 to $10.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. UBS Group upgraded Weibo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $12.90 to $11.50 in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $10.60 target price on shares of Weibo in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, HSBC reduced their price target on shares of Weibo from $13.60 to $9.80 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.98.

Weibo Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a PE ratio of 5.56, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $9.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.07. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Weibo (NASDAQ:WB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The information services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.14). Weibo had a net margin of 19.47% and a return on equity of 10.77%. The firm had revenue of $463.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $452.30 million. Research analysts anticipate that Weibo Co. will post 1.64 EPS for the current year.

Weibo Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a — dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th.

Institutional Trading of Weibo

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WB. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Weibo by 92.7% during the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 44,543 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 21,422 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in Weibo by 47.8% during the fourth quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 48,602 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $531,000 after purchasing an additional 15,715 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Weibo by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,855,298 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $31,266,000 after purchasing an additional 38,749 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Weibo by 199.1% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,075,326 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $33,675,000 after purchasing an additional 2,047,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Weibo during the 4th quarter worth about $177,000. 68.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Weibo Company Profile

Weibo Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates as a social media platform for people to create, distribute, and discover content in the People's Republic of China. It operates in two segments, Advertising and Marketing Services; and Value-Added Services. The company offers discovery products to help users discover content on its platform; self-expression products that enable its users to express themselves on its platform; and social products to promote social interaction between users on its platform.