Sea Limited Sponsored ADR (NYSE:SE) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Sea Limited Sponsored ADR (NYSE:SE) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 12,274,187 shares, a drop of 36.5% from the July 15th total of 19,320,948 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,244,739 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days. Currently, 2.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of SEA in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Benchmark lifted their price target on SEA from $140.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings raised SEA from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Zacks Research downgraded SEA from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of SEA in a research note on Monday, July 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SEA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.90.

SEA News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting SEA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Howard Marks’ Oaktree Capital disclosed a new position in Sea Limited valued at approximately $60.9 million. The purchase may bolster confidence in Sea’s long-term growth prospects following a substantial share-price decline. Howard Marks investment article
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains generally constructive. Benchmark raised its price target to $175, while the broader analyst consensus is “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $151.90, implying potential upside from recent trading levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Sea’s latest quarterly revenue rose 48.3% year over year to $7.79 billion, exceeding the $7.12 billion consensus estimate. Growth across e-commerce, digital entertainment and financial services continues to support the investment thesis.
• Neutral Sentiment: Shares are trading above their 50-day and 200-day moving averages, suggesting improving technical momentum. Still, Sea’s valuation is elevated at roughly 45–46 times earnings, making the stock dependent on continued strong growth and execution.
• Negative Sentiment: Sea reported quarterly EPS of $0.70, below the $0.86 analyst estimate. The earnings shortfall contrasts with the strong revenue beat and could limit the stock’s upside until profitability improves.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple executives and directors recently sold shares, including COO Gang Ye, CFO Tianyu Hou, President Zhimin Feng, Director Chen Seng Heng and other insiders. The latest reported transactions totaled more than $12 million, including approximately $5.94 million sold by the COO. Broad-based insider selling may raise concerns about valuation or near-term expectations, although executives retained significant stakes. SEC insider-sale filings

SEA Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of SE traded up $3.49 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $119.75. 1,297,380 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,980,516. The stock has a market cap of $73.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.54. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $103.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. SEA has a twelve month low of $77.05 and a twelve month high of $199.30.

SEA (NYSE:SE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The Internet company based in Singapore reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $7.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. SEA had a net margin of 5.98% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that SEA will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Xiaodong Li sold 1,057,650 shares of SEA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.80, for a total value of $137,282,970.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 288,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,440,810. This trade represents a 78.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Gang Ye sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.35, for a total transaction of $3,880,500.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 430,000 shares in the company, valued at $55,620,500. This represents a 6.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,775,503 shares of company stock valued at $214,945,499. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SEA

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of SEA by 35.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 164,536 shares of the Internet company based in Singapore’s stock valued at $15,767,000 after acquiring an additional 43,193 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt bought a new stake in SEA during the second quarter worth approximately $12,410,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of SEA in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,527,000. Flossbach Von Storch SE acquired a new stake in shares of SEA in the second quarter worth $1,725,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in SEA by 18.8% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 167,648 shares of the Internet company based in Singapore’s stock valued at $16,066,000 after buying an additional 26,498 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 59.53% of the company’s stock.

SEA Company Profile

Sea Limited (NYSE: SE) is a Singapore-based consumer internet company that operates a trio of interconnected businesses across digital entertainment, e-commerce and digital financial services. Founded in 2009 as Garena and later rebranded as Sea, the company is headquartered in Singapore and listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Sea positions itself as a technology platform focused on enabling online consumers, merchants and developers primarily across Southeast Asia and adjacent markets.

Sea’s digital entertainment arm, Garena, is a game developer and publisher that also organizes esports initiatives and operates online gaming platforms.