Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Weibo Call Options (NASDAQ:WB)

Weibo Co. (NASDAQ:WB) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 7,799 call options on the company. This is an increase of 70% compared to the typical volume of 4,590 call options.

Weibo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WB traded up $0.39 on Tuesday, reaching $9.27. 542,184 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,037,184. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Weibo has a twelve month low of $7.03 and a twelve month high of $12.65. The company has a fifty day moving average of $8.75 and a 200-day moving average of $8.51. The company has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.19 and a beta of 0.24.

Weibo (NASDAQ:WB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The information services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.10. Weibo had a net margin of 18.52% and a return on equity of 11.01%. The company had revenue of $437.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $437.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Weibo will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weibo

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Deltec Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Weibo during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Creative Planning bought a new stake in Weibo during the 3rd quarter valued at $112,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Weibo in the first quarter worth $123,000. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in Weibo during the 2nd quarter worth about $110,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co purchased a new stake in Weibo during the 3rd quarter worth about $194,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Nomura Securities upgraded Weibo to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Weibo from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com raised Weibo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Weibo from $8.00 to $7.50 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.23.

Weibo Company Profile

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.