NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) Shares Gap Up to $93.04

Shares of NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $93.04, but opened at $96.00. NetEase shares last traded at $95.69, with a volume of 532,010 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTES has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of NetEase in a research report on Thursday. Barclays initiated coverage on NetEase in a report on Thursday, June 13th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $104.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com downgraded NetEase from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. HSBC lowered their price objective on NetEase from $130.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Benchmark raised their target price on NetEase from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NetEase presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.00.

NetEase Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $94.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.54. The company has a market capitalization of $61.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.52.

NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The technology company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.68 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. NetEase had a net margin of 28.75% and a return on equity of 24.19%. Research analysts anticipate that NetEase, Inc. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

NetEase Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $0.495 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $1.98 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. NetEase’s payout ratio is 30.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NetEase

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTES. Aurora Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in shares of NetEase by 6.8% in the first quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 24,766 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,563,000 after buying an additional 1,568 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its holdings in NetEase by 20.9% in the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 181,700 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $18,800,000 after acquiring an additional 31,400 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Resource Group boosted its position in shares of NetEase by 40.1% during the 1st quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 8,335 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $862,000 after purchasing an additional 2,385 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of NetEase by 21.9% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,127 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 741 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingdon Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of NetEase in the 1st quarter worth approximately $8,795,000. 11.07% of the stock is owned by 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.