NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $114.82, but opened at $118.55. NetEase shares last traded at $121.2820, with a volume of 217,668 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTES has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of NetEase from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NetEase in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered NetEase from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 target price on shares of NetEase in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of NetEase in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $157.38.

NetEase Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.16. The firm has a market cap of $78.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.72.

NetEase Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. NetEase’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.11%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in NetEase by 68,860.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 8,551,117 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,299,684,000 after buying an additional 8,538,717 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in NetEase by 25.2% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,363,188 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $152,595,000 after acquiring an additional 274,500 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in NetEase by 111.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,325,317 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $148,356,000 after acquiring an additional 698,318 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in NetEase by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,133,052 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $172,213,000 after acquiring an additional 50,861 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of NetEase by 16.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,079,110 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $120,697,000 after acquiring an additional 155,784 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

NetEase Company Profile

NetEase, Inc (NASDAQ: NTES) is a Chinese technology company headquartered in Hangzhou that develops and operates Internet services and products. Founded in 1997 by William Ding (Ding Lei), the company has grown from an early web portal and e-mail provider into a diversified online services group. William Ding has served as the company’s founder and long-time leader, guiding its expansion into games, digital content and consumer services.

The company’s primary business is interactive entertainment: NetEase Games designs, develops and publishes PC and mobile games for domestic and international audiences, offering a mix of self-developed franchises and titles published under licensing and strategic partnerships.