Sea Limited Sponsored ADR (NYSE:SE) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Sea Limited Sponsored ADR (NYSE:SE) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 12,274,187 shares, a decrease of 36.5% from the July 15th total of 19,320,948 shares. Currently, 2.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 4,244,739 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Key Stories Impacting SEA

Here are the key news stories impacting SEA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Howard Marks’ Oaktree Capital disclosed a new position in Sea worth approximately $60.9 million. The investment could reinforce confidence in Sea’s long-term growth prospects following the stock’s decline from its 52-week high. Howard Marks investment article
• Positive Sentiment: Sea’s latest quarterly revenue rose 48.3% year over year to $7.79 billion, surpassing the $7.12 billion analyst consensus. The company’s e-commerce, digital entertainment and financial-services businesses continue to deliver substantial top-line growth.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains broadly favorable. Sea has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $151.90, while Benchmark recently raised its target to $175. Sea growth model article
• Neutral Sentiment: Sea’s valuation remains demanding at roughly 45 times earnings, making the stock highly dependent on continued growth and improving profitability. Its shares are trading above both the 50-day and 200-day moving averages, indicating positive momentum but also increased sensitivity to disappointing news.
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly EPS was $0.70, below the $0.86 consensus estimate. Although revenue beat expectations, the earnings shortfall may temper enthusiasm and raise questions about margin performance.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple executives and directors recently sold shares. COO Gang Ye disposed of 50,000 shares for approximately $5.9 million, while the CFO, president, director Chen Seng Heng and other insiders also reduced their holdings. The breadth of the selling may concern investors about near-term valuation, even though insiders retained sizable positions. Gang Ye share sale article SEA insider selling report

Insider Activity at SEA

In other news, COO Gang Ye sold 20,000 shares of SEA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.64, for a total value of $2,332,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 290,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,825,600. This trade represents a 6.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Yanjun Wang sold 1,500 shares of SEA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.88, for a total transaction of $179,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 32,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,848,148. This represents a 4.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 1,775,503 shares of company stock worth $214,945,499 over the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of SEA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SE. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT grew its position in shares of SEA by 539.6% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 307 shares of the Internet company based in Singapore’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in shares of SEA by 461.5% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 657 shares of the Internet company based in Singapore’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its stake in SEA by 102.5% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,132 shares of the Internet company based in Singapore’s stock valued at $144,000 after buying an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in SEA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $175,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in SEA by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC now owns 2,005 shares of the Internet company based in Singapore’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.53% of the company’s stock.

SEA Stock Performance

NYSE SE opened at $119.26 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $104.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.56. The company has a market capitalization of $72.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.05, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.54. SEA has a 1-year low of $77.05 and a 1-year high of $199.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

SEA (NYSE:SE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The Internet company based in Singapore reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.16). SEA had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 5.98%.The firm had revenue of $7.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that SEA will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $153.00 price objective on shares of SEA in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Zacks Research downgraded SEA from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of SEA in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of SEA from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of SEA from $122.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.90.

About SEA

Sea Limited (NYSE: SE) is a Singapore-based consumer internet company that operates a trio of interconnected businesses across digital entertainment, e-commerce and digital financial services. Founded in 2009 as Garena and later rebranded as Sea, the company is headquartered in Singapore and listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Sea positions itself as a technology platform focused on enabling online consumers, merchants and developers primarily across Southeast Asia and adjacent markets.

Sea’s digital entertainment arm, Garena, is a game developer and publisher that also organizes esports initiatives and operates online gaming platforms.