Hello Group (NASDAQ:MOMO) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Hello Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MOMO) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $6.73, but opened at $6.88. Hello Group shares last traded at $6.95, with a volume of 220,659 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hello Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Benchmark cut their price target on Hello Group from $15.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Hello Group from $6.50 to $7.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.93.

Hello Group Trading Down 2.3 %

The stock has a market cap of $998.35 million, a P/E ratio of 6.26, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $6.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 2.55.

Hello Group (NASDAQ:MOMO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 3rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $2.13. The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.67 billion. Hello Group had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 12.40%. The company’s revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.39 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hello Group Inc. will post 0.73 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MOMO. BRIGHT VALLEY CAPITAL Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Hello Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $22,553,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Hello Group by 26.4% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 7,377,789 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $45,781,000 after acquiring an additional 1,538,632 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Hello Group by 994.2% in the 1st quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,617,308 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $10,043,000 after buying an additional 1,469,500 shares during the period. Polunin Capital Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in Hello Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,566,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Hello Group by 20.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,716,809 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $22,736,000 after buying an additional 633,746 shares during the period. 50.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hello Group Company Profile

Hello Group Inc provides mobile-based social and entertainment services in the People's Republic of China. It operates in three segments: Momo, Tantan, and QOOL. The company offers Momo, a mobile application that connects people and facilitates social interactions based on location, interests, and various online recreational activities, including live talent shows, short videos, social games, as well as other video- and audio-based interactive experiences, such as online parties, mobile karaoke and user participated reality shows; Tantan, a social and dating application; and other applications under the Hertz, Soulchill, Duidui, and Tietie names.