Weibo (NASDAQ:WB) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Weibo Co. (NASDAQ:WB)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $8.51, but opened at $8.72. Weibo shares last traded at $8.91, with a volume of 705,063 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Weibo from $8.00 to $7.50 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Weibo in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup boosted their price target on Weibo from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Weibo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Nomura Securities raised Weibo to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.23.

Weibo Stock Up 1.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.29 and a beta of 0.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $9.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 2.34.

Weibo (NASDAQ:WB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The information services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.10. Weibo had a net margin of 21.30% and a return on equity of 11.26%. The company had revenue of $437.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $437.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Weibo Co. will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weibo

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WB. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Weibo in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,398,000. Krane Funds Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Weibo by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC now owns 3,803,752 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $29,213,000 after purchasing an additional 564,068 shares during the period. Polunin Capital Partners Ltd bought a new position in Weibo in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,064,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Weibo by 64.1% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,309,385 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $10,056,000 after acquiring an additional 511,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Weibo by 9.9% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 207,646 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,887,000 after purchasing an additional 18,630 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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, discover, and distribute 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.