HUYA (NYSE:HUYA) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

HUYA Inc. Sponsored ADR (NYSE:HUYA)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $3.28, but opened at $3.03. HUYA shares last traded at $3.0150, with a volume of 501,712 shares.

The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.01). HUYA had a positive return on equity of 0.50% and a negative net margin of 1.77%.The firm had revenue of $250.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $251.85 million.

HUYA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 17th will be paid a $0.135 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 17th. HUYA’s payout ratio is presently -4,766.67%.

HUYA declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, March 18th that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HUYA. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of HUYA in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research lowered shares of HUYA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $3.40 price objective on HUYA in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.45.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HUYA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in HUYA by 92.1% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 85,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 41,138 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in shares of HUYA by 8.6% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 245,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $817,000 after buying an additional 19,353 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of HUYA by 10.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 154,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $497,000 after buying an additional 14,456 shares in the last quarter. 23.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HUYA Trading Down 7.8%

The stock has a market cap of $676.18 million, a P/E ratio of -50.32 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.30.

HUYA Company Profile

HUYA Inc is a leading interactive live streaming platform based in Guangzhou, China, primarily focused on video game and esports content. The company operates a proprietary technology platform that enables users to broadcast and view live gameplay, participate in real-time chat, and engage with hosts through virtual gifting. Its services are accessible via web browsers, desktop applications and mobile apps for both iOS and Android.

At the core of HUYA’s business are user-generated live streams hosted by professional gamers, influencers and esports organizations.