Short Interest in NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) Drops By 17.5%

NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,490,000 shares, a decline of 17.5% from the January 31st total of 4,230,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,290,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days. Currently, 0.6% of the company's shares are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NetEase

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in NetEase by 81.7% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the technology company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of NetEase in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of NetEase by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 444 shares of the technology company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new stake in shares of NetEase during the 4th quarter worth $62,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in NetEase in the third quarter valued at about $70,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.07% of the company's stock.

NetEase Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ NTES traded up $0.79 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $102.78. The stock had a trading volume of 1,693,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,546,546. NetEase has a 52-week low of $75.85 and a 52-week high of $111.12. The firm has a market cap of $66.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.61. The business's fifty day moving average price is $99.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.52.

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NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. NetEase had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 28.17%. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.16 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that NetEase will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NetEase Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.435 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. NetEase's dividend payout ratio is currently 76.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NTES. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of NetEase from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of NetEase from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Benchmark boosted their target price on NetEase from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on NetEase from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut NetEase from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $114.57.

About NetEase

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.