Weibo (NASDAQ:WB) Stock Price Up 3.7%

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Weibo Trading Up 2.4 %

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $9.03 and its 200-day moving average is $10.08. The company has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.47, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

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

Weibo Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weibo

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WB. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in Weibo by 149.2% in the 1st quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 5,059,287 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $124,002,000 after buying an additional 3,029,114 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Weibo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,154,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Weibo by 199.1% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,075,326 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $33,675,000 after buying an additional 2,047,135 shares in the last quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. increased its stake in Weibo by 183.5% in the 1st quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 2,834,725 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $56,865,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834,725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Weibo by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 6,825,571 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $74,740,000 after acquiring an additional 864,120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.77% of the company’s stock.

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.