Morgan Stanley Reiterates “Equal Weight” Rating for NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES)

Morgan Stanley restated their equal weight rating on shares of NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) in a report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $100.00 target price on the technology company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $120.00.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on NTES. StockNews.com downgraded shares of NetEase from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. HSBC reduced their price objective on NetEase from $130.00 to $126.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $124.13.

NetEase Price Performance

NetEase stock opened at $90.48 on Thursday. NetEase has a one year low of $80.79 and a one year high of $118.89. The business’s fifty day moving average is $98.47 and its 200 day moving average is $101.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.10 billion, a PE ratio of 14.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.58.

NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The technology company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by ($0.05). NetEase had a net margin of 28.75% and a return on equity of 24.54%. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that NetEase will post 7.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NetEase Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th will be issued a $0.495 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $1.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. NetEase’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.82%.

Institutional Trading of NetEase

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of NetEase by 418.9% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 275 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in NetEase during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. USA Financial Formulas boosted its position in shares of NetEase by 1,153.1% in the fourth quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 401 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. purchased a new stake in shares of NetEase in the first quarter worth $50,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of NetEase during the 1st quarter valued at $50,000. 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.