NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,390,000 shares, a drop of 18.9% from the June 30th total of 5,410,000 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,640,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NetEase

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in NetEase by 226.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,896,495 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $176,677,000 after buying an additional 1,315,410 shares during the last quarter. Tairen Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in NetEase during the 4th quarter valued at $164,307,000. Capital International Investors raised its stake in NetEase by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,052,966 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $108,950,000 after buying an additional 11,729 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD purchased a new stake in NetEase during the 1st quarter valued at $103,658,000. Finally, WT Asset Management Ltd raised its stake in NetEase by 381.1% during the 4th quarter. WT Asset Management Ltd now owns 996,686 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $92,851,000 after buying an additional 789,499 shares during the last quarter. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NetEase Price Performance

NASDAQ NTES traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $91.65. The stock had a trading volume of 1,726,897 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,704,936. NetEase has a 1 year low of $81.30 and a 1 year high of $118.89. The stock has a market cap of $58.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $92.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.15.

NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 23rd. The technology company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by ($0.05). NetEase had a return on equity of 24.19% and a net margin of 28.75%. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that NetEase will post 6.68 earnings per share for the current year.

NetEase Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th were issued a $0.495 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $1.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. NetEase’s payout ratio is currently 30.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. HSBC cut their price objective on NetEase from $130.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com cut NetEase from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 20th. Barclays started coverage on NetEase in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $104.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark boosted their price target on NetEase from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of NetEase in a research report on Friday, July 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.86.

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.