Weibo Corporation (NASDAQ:WB) Short Interest Up 175.9% in July

Key Points

• Weibo Corporation experienced a significant increase in short interest, rising by 175.9% in July, with total short interest reaching 15,670,000 shares.
• Institutional investors hold 68.77% of Weibo's stock, with notable positions increased by firms like Krane Funds Advisors and Vanguard Group.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" for Weibo, with a target price set at $9.75, after a mix of buy, hold, and sell ratings.

Weibo Corporation (NASDAQ:WB - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 15,670,000 shares, agrowthof175.9% from the June 30th total of 5,680,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,040,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 15.1 days. Based on an average trading volume of 1,040,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 15.1 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPD Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in Weibo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $19,115,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Weibo in the 4th quarter worth about $11,274,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Weibo by 1,641.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,048,522 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $10,013,000 after acquiring an additional 988,327 shares in the last quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC increased its stake in Weibo by 25.1% during the 1st quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC now owns 4,332,687 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $41,031,000 after purchasing an additional 868,643 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in Weibo during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,853,000. Institutional investors own 68.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut Weibo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Weibo currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $9.75.

Weibo Price Performance

Shares of Weibo stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $9.76. The company had a trading volume of 1,111,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 843,976. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 0.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.53. Weibo has a 1-year low of $7.03 and a 1-year high of $12.40.

Weibo (NASDAQ:WB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The information services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $396.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $394.21 million. Weibo had a net margin of 20.41% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Weibo will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Weibo Company Profile

Weibo Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates as a social media platform for people to create, discover, and distribute content in the People's Republic of China. It operates in two segments, Advertising and Marketing Services; and Value-Added Services. The company offers discovery products to help users discover content on its platform; self-expression products that enable its users to express themselves on its platform; and social products to promote social interaction between users on its platform.