NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) Short Interest Down 17.5% in February

NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,490,000 shares, a decline of 17.5% from the January 31st total of 4,230,000 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,290,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

NetEase Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ:NTES traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $101.85. 2,068,496 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,557,383. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $98.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.37. The company has a market cap of $65.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.58. NetEase has a 1 year low of $75.85 and a 1 year high of $111.12.

NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. NetEase had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 28.17%. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.16 billion. Equities analysts forecast that NetEase will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NetEase Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.435 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. NetEase’s payout ratio is 76.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTES has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of NetEase from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup raised their price target on NetEase from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Barclays upped their price objective on NetEase from $82.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Bank of America raised their target price on NetEase from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of NetEase from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NetEase presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.57.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NetEase

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in NetEase by 27.3% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 38,469 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,597,000 after acquiring an additional 8,248 shares in the last quarter. WT Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of NetEase in the fourth quarter worth about $2,624,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in NetEase during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $654,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its stake in NetEase by 87.0% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 75,282 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,040,000 after buying an additional 35,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, APEIRON CAPITAL Ltd grew its holdings in NetEase by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. APEIRON CAPITAL Ltd now owns 129,321 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $11,537,000 after buying an additional 22,000 shares in the last quarter. 11.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About NetEase

NetEase, Inc engages in online games, music streaming, online intelligent learning services, and internet content services businesses in China and internationally . The company operates through Games and Related Value-Added Services, Youdao, Cloud Music, and Innovative Businesses and Others segments.