WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ:WBTN) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ:WBTN - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,750,000 shares, a growth of 19.6% from the April 30th total of 2,300,000 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 367,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.5 days.

WEBTOON Entertainment Stock Performance

WBTN traded down $0.12 during trading on Thursday, hitting $8.78. The stock had a trading volume of 292,227 shares, compared to its average volume of 423,723. The company has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion and a PE ratio of -6.10. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.58. WEBTOON Entertainment has a twelve month low of $6.75 and a twelve month high of $25.66.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Junkoo Kim purchased 11,372 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.73 per share, for a total transaction of $99,277.56. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 498,812 shares in the company, valued at $4,354,628.76. This trade represents a 2.33% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 5.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEBTOON Entertainment

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBTN. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in WEBTOON Entertainment in the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych purchased a new stake in shares of WEBTOON Entertainment in the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in shares of WEBTOON Entertainment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. purchased a new position in WEBTOON Entertainment during the third quarter worth approximately $75,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in WEBTOON Entertainment by 37.8% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 8,168 shares of the company's stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 2,240 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBTN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on WEBTOON Entertainment from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of WEBTOON Entertainment from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of WEBTOON Entertainment in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $11.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of WEBTOON Entertainment from $13.00 to $10.50 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of WEBTOON Entertainment from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $14.36.

About WEBTOON Entertainment

WEBTOON Entertainment Inc operates a storytelling platform worldwide. The company's platform allows a community of creators and users to discover, create, and share new content. Its platform offers stories primarily in two ways, including web-comics, a graphical comic-like medium; and web-novels, which are text-based stories.