StockNews.com Upgrades Weibo (NASDAQ:WB) to "Buy"

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Weibo (NASDAQ:WB - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday morning.

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

Weibo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WB traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $9.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,405,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,074,210. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $8.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 2.34. Weibo has a 1-year low of $7.03 and a 1-year high of $12.65.

Weibo (NASDAQ:WB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The information services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.10. Weibo had a net margin of 18.52% and a return on equity of 11.01%. The firm had revenue of $437.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $437.97 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. Weibo's revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Weibo will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. lifted its stake in Weibo by 4.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 6,000 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Weibo by 21.5% during 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 stake in Weibo during the second quarter worth approximately $82,000. Creative Planning acquired a new stake in Weibo during the third quarter worth approximately $112,000. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Weibo during the first quarter worth approximately $123,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.77% of the company's stock.

About Weibo

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.