Weibo Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:WB)

Weibo Co. (NASDAQ:WB - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors acquired 7,582 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 80% compared to the average volume of 4,211 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Weibo from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Nomura Securities raised Weibo to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Weibo from $8.00 to $7.50 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $10.23.

Weibo Stock Performance

Shares of WB traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $11.71. 7,123,571 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,088,174. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $8.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.42. Weibo has a 52 week low of $7.03 and a 52 week high of $13.54. The company has a quick ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.23.

Weibo (NASDAQ:WB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The information services provider reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $437.90 million during 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 firm's revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Weibo will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weibo

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WB. Deltec Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Weibo during the 2nd quarter valued at about $82,000. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Weibo in the second quarter worth approximately $110,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Weibo during the first quarter valued at about $123,000. XY Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Weibo during the first quarter worth about $140,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Weibo during the third quarter worth about $194,000. 68.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Weibo

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.