NetEase’s (NTES) “Equal Weight” Rating Reaffirmed at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley restated their equal weight rating on shares of NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $100.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock.

NTES has been the topic of several other reports. Benchmark upped their target price on NetEase from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of NetEase from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday. HSBC dropped their target price on shares of NetEase from $130.00 to $126.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of NetEase in a report on Thursday, June 13th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $104.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $123.00.

NetEase Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTES opened at $96.06 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.54. NetEase has a fifty-two week low of $81.30 and a fifty-two week high of $118.89.

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

NetEase Cuts Dividend

The firm 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 dividend yield of 2.06%. NetEase’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NetEase

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of NetEase by 226.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,896,495 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $176,677,000 after buying an additional 1,315,410 shares during the period. Tairen Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in NetEase in the 4th quarter worth approximately $164,307,000. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of NetEase by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,052,966 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $108,950,000 after purchasing an additional 11,729 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD acquired a new position in shares of NetEase in the 1st quarter valued at $103,658,000. Finally, WT Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in NetEase by 381.1% during the fourth quarter. WT Asset Management Ltd now owns 996,686 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $92,851,000 after buying an additional 789,499 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.