Short Interest in The9 Limited (NASDAQ:NCTY) Grows By 187.7%

The9 Limited (NASDAQ:NCTY) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 334,804 shares, a growth of 187.7% from the August 15th total of 116,368 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 361,854 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days. Currently, 3.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The9

An institutional investor recently raised its stake in The9 stock. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in The9 Limited (NASDAQ:NCTY) by 57.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,811 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,931 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.26% of The9 worth $255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The9 Stock Up 11.8%

Shares of The9 stock opened at $4.18 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.66 million, a P/E ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 2.09. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.07. The9 has a 12-month low of $3.14 and a 12-month high of $11.60.

The9 (NASDAQ:NCTY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The technology company reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $1.86 million for the quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NCTY. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of The9 in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded The9 to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Sell”.

The9 Company Profile

The9 Limited is a Shanghai-based digital entertainment company specializing in the development, publishing and operation of online and mobile games. Since its founding in 1999, the company has built a portfolio of multiplayer titles that combine in-house development capabilities with strategic licensing agreements. The9’s offerings span PC and mobile platforms, and its products include fantasy, role-playing and casual games tailored primarily to the mainland China market.

Historically, The9 gained prominence through a landmark partnership with an international game developer, securing exclusive rights to operate the popular World of Warcraft franchise in China from 2004 to 2009.