WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ:WBTN) Short Interest Update

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) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of 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 volume of 302,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 10.5 days. Currently,20.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Currently,20.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 302,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 10.5 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on WBTN shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective 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 target price on shares of WEBTOON Entertainment from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of WEBTOON Entertainment from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of WEBTOON Entertainment from $13.00 to $10.50 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of WEBTOON Entertainment in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $11.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $14.36.

WEBTOON Entertainment Price Performance

WEBTOON Entertainment stock traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $9.51. The stock had a trading volume of 31,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 306,829. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $9.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.49. WEBTOON Entertainment has a twelve month low of $6.75 and a twelve month high of $21.28. The firm has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.61 and a beta of 1.12.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEBTOON Entertainment

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in WEBTOON Entertainment by 59.6% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,375 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,261 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its stake in WEBTOON Entertainment by 649.0% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,674 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 4,050 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in WEBTOON Entertainment in the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych acquired a new position in WEBTOON Entertainment in the 1st quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in WEBTOON Entertainment in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $107,000.

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.