NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• NetEase has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 10 brokerages, with seven buys and three holds. The average one-year price target is $158.38, suggesting potential upside from the stock’s $132.22 opening price.
• Analyst sentiment has been mixed, with Wall Street Zen and Zacks Research downgrading the shares to “hold,” while Benchmark maintained a “buy” rating and Goldman Sachs set a $169 price target.
• NetEase’s general counsel sold 10,000 shares for approximately $1.28 million, while several major institutional investors increased their holdings. The company pays a $0.72 quarterly dividend, representing a 2.2% yield.

NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the ten brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $158.3750.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on NTES shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of NetEase from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 2nd. Zacks Research lowered NetEase from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of NetEase in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $169.00 target price on NetEase in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded NetEase from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th.

Insider Transactions at NetEase

In other NetEase news, General Counsel Paul William Boltz, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.30, for a total transaction of $1,283,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 12,223 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,568,210.90. This trade represents a 45.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 54.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of NetEase

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTES. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NetEase by 68,860.6% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 8,551,117 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,299,684,000 after buying an additional 8,538,717 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of NetEase by 25.2% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,363,188 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $152,595,000 after purchasing an additional 274,500 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of NetEase by 111.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,325,317 shares of the technology company's stock worth $148,356,000 after buying an additional 698,318 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of NetEase by 16.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,079,110 shares of the technology company's stock worth $120,697,000 after buying an additional 155,784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc boosted its stake in NetEase by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,055,122 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $160,368,000 after purchasing an additional 71,966 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 11.07% of the company's stock.

NetEase Price Performance

NetEase stock opened at $132.22 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $126.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.96. NetEase has a 12 month low of $106.06 and a 12 month high of $159.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.65 billion, a PE ratio of 17.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.72.

NetEase Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. NetEase's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.11%.

NetEase Company Profile

NetEase, Inc NASDAQ: NTES is a Chinese technology company headquartered in Hangzhou that develops and operates Internet services and products. Founded in 1997 by William Ding (Ding Lei), the company has grown from an early web portal and e-mail provider into a diversified online services group. William Ding has served as the company's founder and long-time leader, guiding its expansion into games, digital content and consumer services.

The company's primary business is interactive entertainment: NetEase Games designs, develops and publishes PC and mobile games for domestic and international audiences, offering a mix of self-developed franchises and titles published under licensing and strategic partnerships.

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