NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) Short Interest Down 15.7% in March

NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 2,094,880 shares, a decline of 15.7% from the February 26th total of 2,483,751 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,149,198 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Trading of NetEase

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of NetEase by 68,860.6% during the 3rd 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 valued at $1,299,684,000 after buying an additional 8,538,717 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of NetEase by 1,636.4% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 662,557 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $100,702,000 after acquiring an additional 624,399 shares during the last quarter. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators purchased a new stake in NetEase during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,214,000. Man Group plc increased its stake in shares of NetEase by 33.3% in the second quarter. Man Group plc now owns 983,156 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $132,313,000 after buying an additional 245,872 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Causeway Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in NetEase by 44.6% during the 3rd quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 638,315 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $97,017,000 after acquiring an additional 196,821 shares in the last quarter. 11.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on NTES. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of NetEase in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Nomura reduced their price target on shares of NetEase from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays decreased their price objective on NetEase from $135.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $154.00 price target on shares of NetEase in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NetEase in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Eight 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $153.89.

NetEase Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NetEase stock traded up $1.93 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $111.96. 525,597 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 838,253. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.74. NetEase has a twelve month low of $88.54 and a twelve month high of $159.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.20.

NetEase Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. This is an increase from NetEase’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. NetEase’s payout ratio is currently 63.08%.

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.