Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Weibo Call Options (NASDAQ:WB)

Weibo Co. (NASDAQ:WB - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 7,799 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 70% compared to the average daily volume of 4,590 call options.

Weibo Price Performance

Shares of WB traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $9.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,124,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,039,906. The company has a quick ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Weibo has a one year low of $7.03 and a one year high of $12.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.24 and a beta of 0.24. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $8.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.51.

Weibo (NASDAQ:WB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The information services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.10. The company 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 firm's quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Weibo will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weibo

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Weibo by 4.7% during the first 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. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Weibo by 21.5% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 51,661 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 9,143 shares in the last quarter. Deltec Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Weibo in the second quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Creative Planning acquired a new stake in shares of Weibo during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $112,000. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Weibo in the 1st quarter valued at $123,000. Institutional investors own 68.77% of the company's stock.

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.