NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,390,000 shares, a drop of 18.9% from the June 30th total of 5,410,000 shares. Approximately 0.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,640,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on NTES shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of NetEase in a research note on Friday, July 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of NetEase from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 20th. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of NetEase from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Barclays started coverage on shares of NetEase in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, HSBC lowered their target price on shares of NetEase from $130.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NetEase currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.86.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in NetEase by 418.9% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 275 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in shares of NetEase by 1,415.0% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 303 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NetEase in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. USA Financial Formulas grew its position in shares of NetEase by 1,153.1% in the fourth quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 401 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. acquired a new stake in shares of NetEase in the first quarter valued at about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

NetEase Trading Up 0.5 %

NTES traded up $0.47 on Tuesday, reaching $91.65. The stock had a trading volume of 1,726,897 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,704,936. NetEase has a 12-month low of $81.30 and a 12-month high of $118.89. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $92.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.15. The company has a market cap of $58.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.53.

NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 23rd. The technology company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by ($0.05). NetEase had a net margin of 28.75% and a return on equity of 24.19%. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. As a group, analysts predict that NetEase will post 6.68 earnings per share for the current year.

NetEase Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 6th were issued a $0.495 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $1.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. NetEase’s payout ratio is 30.54%.

NetEase Company Profile

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.