Weibo (NASDAQ:WB) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Weibo Co. (NASDAQ:WB)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $10.26, but opened at $9.84. Weibo shares last traded at $10.02, with a volume of 1,139,375 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WB. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Weibo from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Nomura Securities upgraded Weibo to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Weibo from $8.00 to $7.50 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.23.

Weibo Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 2.34. The stock has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.23. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $8.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.43.

Weibo (NASDAQ:WB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The information services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.10. Weibo had a return on equity of 11.01% and a net margin of 18.52%. The business had revenue of $437.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $437.97 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. Weibo’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Weibo by 199.1% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,075,326 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $33,675,000 after purchasing an additional 2,047,135 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its holdings in Weibo by 47.8% during the fourth quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 48,602 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $531,000 after acquiring an additional 15,715 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Weibo by 92.7% during the first quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 44,543 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 21,422 shares during the period. XY Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Weibo in the first quarter valued at about $140,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Weibo by 65.0% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 119,025 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,082,000 after acquiring an additional 46,898 shares during the period. 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, distribute, and discover 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.