NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) released its earnings results on Thursday. The technology company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by ($0.51), FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.33 billion. NetEase had a return on equity of 21.04% and a net margin of 29.85%.

NetEase Stock Performance

Shares of NTES opened at $127.25 on Thursday. NetEase has a 52-week low of $106.06 and a 52-week high of $159.55. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $126.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Paul William Boltz, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.30, for a total transaction of $1,283,000.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 12,223 shares in the company, valued at $1,568,210.90. This represents a 45.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 54.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of NetEase

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NTES. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in NetEase by 68,860.6% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 8,551,117 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,299,684,000 after purchasing an additional 8,538,717 shares during the period. Man Group plc lifted its position in NetEase by 33.3% during the second quarter. Man Group plc now owns 983,156 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $132,313,000 after buying an additional 245,872 shares during the period. Tiger Pacific Capital LP purchased a new position in NetEase during the third quarter valued at $28,993,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of NetEase by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 894,440 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $123,093,000 after buying an additional 181,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NetEase by 351.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 187,415 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,221,000 after buying an additional 145,906 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NTES. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target on shares of NetEase in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of NetEase from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NetEase from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 2nd. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of NetEase in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $169.00 price target on shares of NetEase in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $158.38.

NetEase Company Profile

NetEase, Inc (NASDAQ: NTES) is a Chinese technology company headquartered in Hangzhou that develops and operates Internet services and products. Founded in 1997 by William Ding (Ding Lei), the company has grown from an early web portal and e-mail provider into a diversified online services group. William Ding has served as the company’s founder and long-time leader, guiding its expansion into games, digital content and consumer services.

The company’s primary business is interactive entertainment: NetEase Games designs, develops and publishes PC and mobile games for domestic and international audiences, offering a mix of self-developed franchises and titles published under licensing and strategic partnerships.