NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $104.17, but opened at $99.12. NetEase shares last traded at $100.27, with a volume of 428,729 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTES has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded NetEase from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of NetEase from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of NetEase from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of NetEase from $82.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of NetEase from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $114.57.

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NetEase Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $63.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.58. The business's 50-day moving average price is $97.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.78.

NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. NetEase had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 28.17%. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.16 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that NetEase, Inc. will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NetEase Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.435 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. NetEase's payout ratio is currently 76.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NetEase

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of NetEase by 81.7% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in NetEase in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in NetEase by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 444 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in NetEase during the third quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new position in shares of NetEase in the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.