WEBTOON Entertainment (NASDAQ:WBTN) Sees Large Volume Increase After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its price target for WEBTOON Entertainment from $10.00 to $11.00, contributing to a 66% increase in trading volume, reaching 674,544 shares traded.
• Analysts are largely optimistic, with Goldman Sachs adjusting their target from $11.00 to $15.00 and Evercore ISI increasing theirs from $20.00 to $23.00, both issuing buy ratings.
• The company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.07, exceeding estimates, with revenue increasing 8.5% year-over-year to $348.27 million.

WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ:WBTN - Get Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Thursday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $10.00 to $11.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. 674,544 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 66% from the previous session's volume of 407,309 shares.The stock last traded at $16.36 and had previously closed at $16.96.

WBTN has been the subject of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of WEBTOON Entertainment from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of WEBTOON Entertainment from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, 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 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, WEBTOON Entertainment has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $15.43.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of WEBTOON Entertainment by 59.6% during the second 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 last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of WEBTOON Entertainment by 649.0% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,674 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 4,050 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in WEBTOON Entertainment during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych bought a new position in WEBTOON Entertainment during the 1st quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in WEBTOON Entertainment during the 2nd quarter worth $107,000.

WEBTOON Entertainment Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.33 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $9.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.38.

WEBTOON Entertainment (NASDAQ:WBTN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.05. WEBTOON Entertainment had a negative return on equity of 0.13% and a negative net margin of 7.24%. The company had revenue of $348.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $341.63 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.20 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. will post -0.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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