WEBTOON Entertainment (NASDAQ:WBTN) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ:WBTN)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $11.73, but opened at $12.92. WEBTOON Entertainment shares last traded at $12.23, with a volume of 491,428 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WBTN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of WEBTOON Entertainment in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $23.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on WEBTOON Entertainment from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on WEBTOON Entertainment from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on WEBTOON Entertainment from $62.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of WEBTOON Entertainment from $23.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WEBTOON Entertainment currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.83.

WEBTOON Entertainment Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $11.29.

WEBTOON Entertainment (NASDAQ:WBTN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.72) by $0.92. The business had revenue of $320.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $340.72 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.01) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. will post -1.3 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Namsun Kim bought 7,195 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $13.90 per share, with a total value of $100,010.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,010.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other WEBTOON Entertainment news, Director Namsun Kim acquired 7,195 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.90 per share, for a total transaction of $100,010.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 7,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,010.50. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Yongsoo Kim acquired 7,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $12.92 per share, for a total transaction of $100,776.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 110,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,432,957.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 56,526 shares of company stock valued at $710,459.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WEBTOON Entertainment

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sandia Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of WEBTOON Entertainment during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $114,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in shares of WEBTOON Entertainment during the 2nd quarter worth $413,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of WEBTOON Entertainment during the second quarter worth $816,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEBTOON Entertainment in the second quarter valued at $1,256,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of WEBTOON Entertainment in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,516,000.

About WEBTOON Entertainment

WEBTOON Entertainment Inc operates a storytelling platform worldwide. The company’s platform allows a community of creators and users to discover, create, and share new content. Its platform offers stories primarily in two ways, including web-comics, a graphical comic-like medium; and web-novels, which are text-based stories.