SEA (NYSE:SE) Raised to "Strong-Buy" at Arete Research

SEA (NYSE:SE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Arete Research to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of SEA in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Benchmark boosted their target price on SEA from $140.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on SEA from $168.00 to $163.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 14th. 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, Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of SEA from a "sector perform" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SEA has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $149.40.

SEA Price Performance

SEA stock opened at $113.48 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.11. The stock has a market cap of $69.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.51. SEA has a 12-month low of $77.05 and a 12-month high of $199.30.

SEA (NYSE:SE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The Internet company based in Singapore reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $7.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. SEA had a net margin of 5.98% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 48.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. Equities analysts expect that SEA will post 2.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at SEA

In related news, President Zhimin Feng sold 4,116 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.45, for a total value of $495,772.20. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 208,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,088,650.95. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Feng Zhao sold 2,000 shares of SEA stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.07, for a total value of $240,140.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 133,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,950.60. This trade represents a 1.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,986,366 shares of company stock valued at $242,587,076. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SEA

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SE. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in SEA during the 1st quarter worth $4,028,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its stake in SEA by 248.7% in the second quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 39,192 shares of the Internet company based in Singapore's stock valued at $6,268,000 after purchasing an additional 27,953 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in SEA by 4.2% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 27,188 shares of the Internet company based in Singapore's stock valued at $4,348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its holdings in shares of SEA by 5.4% in the second quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 543,203 shares of the Internet company based in Singapore's stock valued at $86,880,000 after buying an additional 27,964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of SEA by 21.1% in the second quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 12,168 shares of the Internet company based in Singapore's stock valued at $1,946,000 after buying an additional 2,121 shares during the last quarter. 59.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About SEA

Sea Limited NYSE: SE is a Singapore-based global consumer internet company that develops and operates digital services across entertainment, e-commerce and financial technology. Founded in 2009 as Garena, the company adopted the Sea name in 2017 as it expanded beyond online gaming.

Garena, Sea's digital entertainment business, publishes and develops online games, including the widely distributed mobile battle royale title Free Fire. Garena also provides an online platform for game-related content and community activities.

Shopee operates an e-commerce marketplace that connects consumers, sellers and brands.

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