WEBTOON Entertainment (NASDAQ:WBTN) Stock Price Up 4.1% – Should You Buy?

WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ:WBTN)’s share price traded up 4.1% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $11.06 and last traded at $11.03. 86,857 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 530,545 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on WBTN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of WEBTOON Entertainment in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $23.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of WEBTOON Entertainment from $62.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. HSBC began coverage on shares of WEBTOON Entertainment in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $23.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of WEBTOON Entertainment from $23.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of WEBTOON Entertainment from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.17.

WEBTOON Entertainment Trading Down 1.8 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $12.77.

WEBTOON Entertainment (NASDAQ:WBTN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.72) by $0.92. The firm had revenue of $320.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $340.72 million. The firm’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.01) EPS. On average, research analysts predict that WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. will post -1.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Junkoo Kim purchased 22,596 shares of WEBTOON Entertainment stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $11.88 per share, with a total value of $268,440.48. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 905,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,752,231.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Namsun Kim acquired 7,195 shares of WEBTOON Entertainment stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.90 per share, with a total value of $100,010.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,010.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Junkoo Kim bought 22,596 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $11.88 per share, for a total transaction of $268,440.48. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 905,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,752,231.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders bought 56,526 shares of company stock valued at $710,459.

Institutional Trading of WEBTOON Entertainment

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WBTN. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in WEBTOON Entertainment during the second quarter worth $32,145,000. Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in WEBTOON Entertainment during the second quarter worth $18,346,000. Hood River Capital Management LLC bought a new position in WEBTOON Entertainment during the second quarter worth $10,352,000. Ghisallo Capital Management LLC bought a new position in WEBTOON Entertainment during the second quarter worth $2,055,000. Finally, Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of WEBTOON Entertainment in the second quarter valued at about $1,610,000.

About WEBTOON Entertainment

WEBTOON Entertainment Inc operates a storytelling platform worldwide. The company’s platform allows a community of creators and users to discover, create, and share new content. Its platform offers stories primarily in two ways, including web-comics, a graphical comic-like medium; and web-novels, which are text-based stories.