NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Shares of NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) 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 changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on NTES. Benchmark lifted their price objective on NetEase from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup lifted their price target on NetEase from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. 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 report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com lowered shares of NetEase from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of NetEase from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.57.

NetEase Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $64.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.20.

NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.16 billion. NetEase had a net margin of 28.17% and a return on equity of 22.12%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that NetEase, Inc. will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NetEase Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NetEase

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in NetEase in the third quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of NetEase by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 666,411 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $62,316,000 after purchasing an additional 72,988 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of NetEase by 27.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 38,469 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,597,000 after purchasing an additional 8,248 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its position in shares of NetEase by 87.0% during the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 75,282 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,040,000 after acquiring an additional 35,031 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its stake in NetEase by 20.6% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 21,853 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,043,000 after purchasing an additional 3,739 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.