Hello Group (NASDAQ:MOMO) Stock Rating Lowered by Bank of America

Hello Group (NASDAQ:MOMO) was downgraded by equities researchers at Bank of America from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Hello Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Hello Group from $6.50 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Benchmark cut their target price on Hello Group from $15.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.93.

Hello Group Price Performance

Shares of Hello Group stock opened at $7.25 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of 7.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50 day moving average of $6.93 and a 200 day moving average of $6.45. Hello Group has a 52 week low of $4.79 and a 52 week high of $8.19. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Hello Group (NASDAQ:MOMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 3rd. The information services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $2.13. The company had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.67 billion. Hello Group had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 12.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hello Group will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hello Group by 472.1% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,873 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 3,196 shares in the last quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Hello Group by 110.0% in the first quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. now owns 8,971 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 4,700 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Hello Group in the second quarter valued at about $68,000. Kathmere Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Hello Group in the second quarter valued at about $74,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC bought a new position in Hello Group in the second quarter valued at about $87,000. 50.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hello Group Company Profile

Hello Group Inc provides mobile-based social and entertainment services in the People's Republic of China. It operates in three segments: Momo, Tantan, and QOOL. The company offers Momo, a mobile application that connects people and facilitates social interactions based on location, interests, and various online recreational activities, including live talent shows, short videos, social games, as well as other video- and audio-based interactive experiences, such as online parties, mobile karaoke and user participated reality shows; Tantan, a social and dating application; and other applications under the Hertz, Soulchill, Duidui, and Tietie names.