Weibo Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:WB)

Weibo Co. (NASDAQ:WB) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors purchased 7,799 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 70% compared to the average daily volume of 4,590 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Weibo from $8.00 to $7.50 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Nomura Securities raised Weibo to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Weibo from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Weibo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Weibo currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.23.

Weibo Trading Up 4.4 %

Shares of WB traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $9.27. The stock had a trading volume of 542,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,037,184. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 2.34. The firm has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 7.19 and a beta of 0.24. Weibo has a 1 year low of $7.03 and a 1 year high of $12.65. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $8.75 and its 200 day moving average is $8.51.

Weibo (NASDAQ:WB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The information services provider reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $437.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $437.97 million. Weibo had a net margin of 18.52% and a return on equity of 11.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Weibo will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings 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 valued at $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 46,898 shares during the period. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. grew its position in Weibo by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 134,393 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,222,000 after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Weibo during the 1st quarter valued at about $7,435,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Weibo by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 207,646 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,887,000 after buying an additional 18,630 shares during the period. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Weibo in the first quarter worth about $123,000. 68.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.