Weibo (NASDAQ:WB) Trading 6.9% Higher

Weibo Co. (NASDAQ:WB)’s stock price traded up 6.9% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $10.01 and last traded at $9.86. 2,259,714 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 16% from the average session volume of 1,955,574 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.22.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WB. Nomura Securities raised shares of Weibo to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Weibo from $8.00 to $7.50 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.88.

Weibo Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 2.34. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $7.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.37. The company has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.22.

Weibo (NASDAQ:WB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The information services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $437.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $437.97 million. Weibo had a net margin of 18.52% and a return on equity of 11.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Weibo Co. will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weibo

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WB. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Weibo by 56.1% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 726,940 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,583,000 after purchasing an additional 261,180 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of Weibo by 55.9% in the second quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 50,239 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 18,008 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in Weibo by 64.1% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,309,385 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $10,056,000 after buying an additional 511,248 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in Weibo during the second quarter worth about $110,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Weibo by 42.1% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 59,890 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $460,000 after acquiring an additional 17,749 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.77% of the company’s stock.

About Weibo

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.