Weibo (NASDAQ:WB) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Strong Sell

Zacks Research lowered shares of Weibo (NASDAQ:WB) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks reports.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Weibo in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Weibo in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup downgraded Weibo from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $9.30 to $7.80 in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $9.80 target price on shares of Weibo in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Weibo in a report on Friday, August 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Weibo presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $8.80.

Weibo Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Weibo stock opened at $6.49 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a current ratio of 3.59, a quick ratio of 3.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Weibo has a 12-month low of $6.47 and a 12-month high of $12.96. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $7.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.91.

Weibo (NASDAQ:WB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The information services provider reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $453.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $442.45 million. Weibo had a return on equity of 8.87% and a net margin of 17.78%. Analysts predict that Weibo will post 1.02 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weibo

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Saba Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Weibo by 21.0% during the 1st quarter. Saba Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,437,357 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $21,327,000 after buying an additional 422,294 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Weibo by 41.9% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,363,373 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $17,158,000 after buying an additional 697,778 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Weibo by 39.6% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 584,557 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,115,000 after buying an additional 165,936 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Weibo during the fourth quarter worth about $3,945,000. Finally, XY Capital Ltd grew its holdings in Weibo by 94.1% during the fourth quarter. XY Capital Ltd now owns 198,356 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,027,000 after acquiring an additional 96,150 shares during the period. 68.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Weibo Company Profile

Weibo Corporation (NASDAQ: WB) operates a social media platform in China that enables users to create, share and discover short-form content. Often described as a microblogging service, Weibo supports public posts, multimedia content, hashtags, trending topics, comments, direct messaging and interactions among users, public figures, media organizations and businesses.

The company generates revenue primarily through advertising and marketing services, including promoted content, display advertising and advertising products designed to help brands reach targeted audiences.