Quantbot Technologies LP Acquires New Stake in Weibo Corporation $WB

Key Points

• Quantbot Technologies LP has acquired a new stake in Weibo Corporation, purchasing 69,288 shares valued at approximately $656,000.
• Despite recent positive earnings reports, several brokerages downgraded Weibo's stock, with Wall Street Zen cutting its rating from "buy" to "hold."
• Weibo has demonstrated a significant increase in institutional ownership, with 68.77% of the stock owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Weibo Corporation (NASDAQ:WB - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 69,288 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $656,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WB. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Weibo by 51.8% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 126,192 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,205,000 after acquiring an additional 43,086 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Weibo by 61.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 178,201 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,702,000 after acquiring an additional 68,023 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Weibo during the 4th quarter valued at $1,359,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Weibo by 35.1% during the 1st quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 127,140 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,204,000 after buying an additional 33,000 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Weibo by 106.9% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 36,680 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 18,955 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Weibo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Weibo from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $14.00.

Weibo Price Performance

Weibo stock remained flat at $11.17 during trading on Thursday. The company had a trading volume of 1,403,503 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,381,421. Weibo Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $7.03 and a fifty-two week high of $12.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 3.65 and a current ratio of 3.65. The company's 50-day moving average price is $10.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.63. The firm has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a PE ratio of 7.81 and a beta of 0.10.

Weibo (NASDAQ:WB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The information services provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $444.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $438.84 million. Weibo had a return on equity of 12.65% and a net margin of 21.10%.Weibo's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Weibo Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Weibo

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.