BlackRock Inc. Invests $21.63 Million in WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. $WBTN

Key Points

• BlackRock purchased 1.89 million WEBTOON shares worth approximately $21.63 million during the second quarter, giving it a 1.4% stake in the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: WEBTOON has an average “Hold” rating, with five Hold, two Buy, and one Sell rating. The consensus price target is $13.70, though JPMorgan lowered its target to $10.
• WEBTOON beat quarterly EPS expectations at $0.04 versus a projected loss of $0.07, but revenue fell 2.8% year over year to $338.47 million and the company remains unprofitable on a net-margin basis.

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ:WBTN - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,893,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,629,000. BlackRock Inc. owned 1.40% of WEBTOON Entertainment at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBTN. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in WEBTOON Entertainment in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of WEBTOON Entertainment by 620.4% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,445 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 3,828 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of WEBTOON Entertainment by 103.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,548 shares of the company's stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,804 shares during the period. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych increased its position in shares of WEBTOON Entertainment by 13.3% during the first quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 8,500 shares of the company's stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of WEBTOON Entertainment by 8.6% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,816 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 774 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WBTN. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of WEBTOON Entertainment in a report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded WEBTOON Entertainment from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on WEBTOON Entertainment from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $12.00 target price on shares of WEBTOON Entertainment in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, WEBTOON Entertainment currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $13.70.

WEBTOON Entertainment Stock Performance

NASDAQ WBTN opened at $10.20 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.88 and a beta of 2.62. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $9.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.73. WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. has a one year low of $7.85 and a one year high of $22.47.

WEBTOON Entertainment (NASDAQ:WBTN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.11. WEBTOON Entertainment had a negative net margin of 25.09% and a positive return on equity of 2.10%. The business had revenue of $338.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $339.89 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.07 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About WEBTOON Entertainment

Webtoon Entertainment Inc operates WEBTOON, a leading digital comics platform offering a diverse library of user-generated and professionally produced webcomics. The company enables creators around the world to publish serialized content in a vertical-scrolling format optimized for mobile and web consumption. Through its platform, readers can access thousands of titles across genres such as romance, fantasy, drama, and action, with both free-to-read episodes and advanced access options supported by microtransactions and advertising.

Founded as part of Naver Corporation and launched internationally in 2014, Webtoon Entertainment has grown rapidly by fostering a direct connection between comic creators and global audiences.

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