NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Shares of NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $137.62, but opened at $146.36. NetEase shares last traded at $147.5860, with a volume of 129,395 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTES has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays set a $135.00 target price on NetEase and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of NetEase from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $138.00 to $190.00 in a report on Friday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $161.00 price objective on shares of NetEase and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of NetEase in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NetEase in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $152.33.

NetEase Stock Up 7.2%

The company has a market cap of $93.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $139.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.21.

NetEase Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. NetEase’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.99%.

Institutional Trading of NetEase

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NTES. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in NetEase by 68,860.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 8,551,117 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,299,684,000 after purchasing an additional 8,538,717 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of NetEase by 1,636.4% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 662,557 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $100,702,000 after buying an additional 624,399 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of NetEase by 33.3% in the second quarter. Man Group plc now owns 983,156 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $132,313,000 after buying an additional 245,872 shares in the last quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of NetEase by 44.6% in the third quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 638,315 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $97,017,000 after acquiring an additional 196,821 shares during the period. Finally, Tiger Pacific Capital LP purchased a new position in NetEase during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,993,000. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About NetEase

NetEase, Inc (NASDAQ: NTES) is a Chinese technology company headquartered in Hangzhou that develops and operates Internet services and products. Founded in 1997 by William Ding (Ding Lei), the company has grown from an early web portal and e-mail provider into a diversified online services group. William Ding has served as the company’s founder and long-time leader, guiding its expansion into games, digital content and consumer services.

The company’s primary business is interactive entertainment: NetEase Games designs, develops and publishes PC and mobile games for domestic and international audiences, offering a mix of self-developed franchises and titles published under licensing and strategic partnerships.