NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $76.28, but opened at $81.03. NetEase shares last traded at $81.97, with a volume of 990,176 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of NetEase from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 20th. Barclays decreased their price target on NetEase from $104.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Benchmark cut their price objective on NetEase from $120.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on NetEase from $126.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of NetEase from $142.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NetEase presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.29.

NetEase Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $54.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.86, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $83.59 and a 200-day moving average of $89.09.

NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The technology company reported $12.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $10.43. NetEase had a net margin of 26.98% and a return on equity of 22.30%. The company had revenue of $25.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.75 EPS. NetEase’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that NetEase, Inc. will post 6.02 EPS for the current year.

NetEase Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.435 dividend. This represents a $1.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. NetEase’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.22%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NetEase by 13,747.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,258,442 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $585,227,000 after buying an additional 6,213,248 shares in the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. lifted its stake in NetEase by 86.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 2,588,943 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $242,092,000 after purchasing an additional 1,203,129 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in NetEase by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,692,705 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $161,789,000 after purchasing an additional 103,102 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd boosted its holdings in NetEase by 109.0% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 1,213,323 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $115,969,000 after purchasing an additional 632,896 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of NetEase by 7.8% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,145,657 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $107,130,000 after buying an additional 82,474 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

NetEase Company Profile

NetEase, Inc engages in online games, music streaming, online intelligent learning services, and internet content services businesses in China and internationally . The company operates through Games and Related Value-Added Services, Youdao, Cloud Music, and Innovative Businesses and Others segments.