Weibo (NASDAQ:WB) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Weibo Co. (NASDAQ:WB - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $8.51, but opened at $8.72. Weibo shares last traded at $8.91, with a volume of 705,063 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on WB shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Weibo from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Weibo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Weibo from $8.00 to $7.50 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Nomura Securities upgraded Weibo to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.23.

Weibo Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 0.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $9.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 2.34.

Weibo (NASDAQ:WB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $437.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $437.97 million. Weibo had a return on equity of 11.01% and a net margin of 18.52%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Weibo Co. will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Weibo

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WB. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Weibo in the 1st quarter worth about $7,435,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Weibo by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 207,646 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,887,000 after buying an additional 18,630 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Weibo during the 1st quarter valued at $123,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 9,143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deltec Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Weibo during the second quarter valued at $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.