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

Key Points

• Short interest in WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. surged by 1,059,900.0% in July, reaching a total of 3,180,000 shares, indicating significant bearish sentiment among investors.
• Research firms have issued varied ratings on the stock, with Evercore ISI lowering its price target from $23.00 to $20.00 while Citigroup placed a "buy" rating with a price objective of $11.00.
• The stock experienced a 7.9% decline in trading, closing at $9.24, with a market cap of $1.20 billion and notable price fluctuations over the past year.

WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ:WBTN - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,180,000 shares, agrowthof1,059,900.0% from the June 30th total of 300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 302,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 10.5 days. Currently,20.6% of the company's stock are sold short. Currently,20.6% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 302,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 10.5 days.

Institutional Trading of WEBTOON Entertainment

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in WEBTOON Entertainment by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,034,524 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,897,659 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of WEBTOON Entertainment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,862,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WEBTOON Entertainment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,033,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WEBTOON Entertainment by 1,312.2% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 224,887 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,054,000 after acquiring an additional 208,962 shares during the period. Finally, Optimize Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of WEBTOON Entertainment in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,132,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on WBTN. Citigroup began coverage on shares of WEBTOON Entertainment in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $11.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of WEBTOON Entertainment from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of WEBTOON Entertainment from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of WEBTOON Entertainment from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $14.36.

WEBTOON Entertainment Price Performance

Shares of WBTN stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $9.31. 39,169 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 306,344. The business's fifty day moving average is $9.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.46. WEBTOON Entertainment has a 12-month low of $6.75 and a 12-month high of $21.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.46 and a beta of 1.12.

WEBTOON Entertainment Company Profile

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.