Wall Street Zen Downgrades WEBTOON Entertainment (NASDAQ:WBTN) to Sell

WEBTOON Entertainment (NASDAQ:WBTN) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut shares of WEBTOON Entertainment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of WEBTOON Entertainment in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research lowered WEBTOON Entertainment from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Evercore reduced their price target on WEBTOON Entertainment from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.33.

WEBTOON Entertainment Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of WBTN stock opened at $11.52 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.41 and a beta of 1.94. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $12.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.63. WEBTOON Entertainment has a 12 month low of $6.75 and a 12 month high of $22.47.

WEBTOON Entertainment (NASDAQ:WBTN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported ($2.86) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($2.82). The firm had revenue of $330.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $336.77 million. WEBTOON Entertainment had a negative net margin of 9.28% and a negative return on equity of 2.14%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.03) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that WEBTOON Entertainment will post -0.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WBTN. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of WEBTOON Entertainment by 966.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 823,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,479,000 after purchasing an additional 746,505 shares in the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in WEBTOON Entertainment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,903,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in WEBTOON Entertainment by 1,281.8% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 313,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,078,000 after buying an additional 290,476 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WEBTOON Entertainment by 329.0% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 191,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,489,000 after buying an additional 146,514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of WEBTOON Entertainment during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,271,000.

About WEBTOON Entertainment

Webtoon Entertainment Inc operates WEBTOON, a leading digital comics platform offering a diverse library of user-generated and professionally produced webcomics. The company enables creators around the world to publish serialized content in a vertical-scrolling format optimized for mobile and web consumption. Through its platform, readers can access thousands of titles across genres such as romance, fantasy, drama, and action, with both free-to-read episodes and advanced access options supported by microtransactions and advertising.

Founded as part of Naver Corporation and launched internationally in 2014, Webtoon Entertainment has grown rapidly by fostering a direct connection between comic creators and global audiences.