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

NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $96.63, but opened at $99.56. NetEase shares last traded at $98.76, with a volume of 446,078 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on NTES shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of NetEase from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays raised their price target on NetEase from $82.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on NetEase from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of NetEase from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of NetEase from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.57.

NetEase Stock Up 4.7 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $98.61 and its 200-day moving average is $90.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.95 billion, a PE ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.58.

NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. NetEase had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 28.17%. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.16 billion. On average, analysts expect that NetEase, Inc. will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

NetEase Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.435 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. NetEase’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.45%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NetEase

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NTES. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in NetEase by 13,747.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 6,213,248 shares in the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. raised its stake in shares of NetEase by 86.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 2,588,943 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $242,092,000 after buying an additional 1,203,129 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of NetEase by 88.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,365,464 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $211,023,000 after buying an additional 1,107,363 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in NetEase by 40.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,725,046 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $332,311,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074,818 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd increased its holdings in NetEase by 160.2% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,668,359 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $148,834,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027,102 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

About NetEase

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.