Hello Group (NASDAQ:MOMO) Rating Lowered to Underperform at Bank of America

Bank of America downgraded shares of Hello Group (NASDAQ:MOMO) from a buy rating to an underperform rating in a report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on MOMO. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Hello Group from $6.50 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Hello Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Hello Group from $15.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.93.

Hello Group Trading Up 5.5 %

NASDAQ MOMO traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $7.29. 320,323 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,723,752. Hello Group has a one year low of $4.79 and a one year high of $8.19. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.45. The stock has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 2.55.

Hello Group (NASDAQ:MOMO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, September 3rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $2.13. Hello Group had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.39 earnings per share. Hello Group’s quarterly revenue was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Hello Group will post 0.73 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hello Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MOMO. BRIGHT VALLEY CAPITAL Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Hello Group during the second quarter worth about $22,553,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Hello Group by 994.2% during the first quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,617,308 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $10,043,000 after acquiring an additional 1,469,500 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Hello Group by 26.3% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 448,013 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,782,000 after acquiring an additional 93,238 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Hello Group by 20.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,716,809 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $22,736,000 after acquiring an additional 633,746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its position in shares of Hello Group by 33.5% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,277,629 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $14,144,000 after acquiring an additional 571,840 shares in the last quarter. 50.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Hello Group

Hello Group Inc provides mobile-based social and entertainment services in the People's Republic of China. It operates in three segments: Momo, Tantan, and QOOL. The company offers Momo, a mobile application that connects people and facilitates social interactions based on location, interests, and various online recreational activities, including live talent shows, short videos, social games, as well as other video- and audio-based interactive experiences, such as online parties, mobile karaoke and user participated reality shows; Tantan, a social and dating application; and other applications under the Hertz, Soulchill, Duidui, and Tietie names.