WEBTOON Entertainment (NASDAQ:WBTN) Sees Strong Trading Volume on 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 Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock from a strong sell rating to a hold rating. 674,544 shares were traded 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.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on WBTN. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on WEBTOON Entertainment from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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, August 13th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of WEBTOON Entertainment from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on WEBTOON Entertainment in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $11.00 price target on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $15.43.

Institutional Trading of WEBTOON Entertainment

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of WEBTOON Entertainment by 59.6% during 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 last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of WEBTOON Entertainment by 649.0% during the second 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 acquired a new stake in WEBTOON Entertainment during the fourth quarter worth approximately $54,000. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych purchased a new stake in WEBTOON Entertainment in the 1st quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in WEBTOON Entertainment by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,816 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 774 shares during the last quarter.

WEBTOON Entertainment Trading Down 5.5%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.38. The company has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a PE ratio of -18.72 and a beta of 1.12.

WEBTOON Entertainment (NASDAQ:WBTN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $348.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $341.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.20 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. WEBTOON Entertainment has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. will post -0.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.