Short Interest in NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) Drops By 18.6%

NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,590,000 shares, a drop of 18.6% from the November 30th total of 4,410,000 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,710,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on NTES shares. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of NetEase from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of NetEase from $120.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded NetEase from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.29.

NetEase Stock Performance

Shares of NetEase stock traded down $0.83 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $91.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 459,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,690,029. The company has a market capitalization of $58.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.93. NetEase has a one year low of $75.85 and a one year high of $114.50.

NetEase Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were given a $0.435 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. NetEase’s payout ratio is 29.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NetEase

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTES. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in NetEase by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,915 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $588,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NetEase in the 3rd quarter worth $4,138,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of NetEase by 5.6% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 13,245 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,145,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Resource Group lifted its position in shares of NetEase by 22.0% during the third quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 12,626 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 2,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in NetEase during the third quarter worth about $11,636,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.