Futu Holdings Limited Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:FUTU) Short Interest Down 26.8% in January

Futu Holdings Limited Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:FUTU) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 3,875,195 shares, a decline of 26.8% from the January 15th total of 5,295,636 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,461,157 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days. Currently, 4.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Currently, 4.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,461,157 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on FUTU shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Futu from $232.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Zacks Research raised Futu from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Futu in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Futu from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $213.39 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Futu currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $205.06.

Futu Stock Performance

FUTU stock traded down $0.76 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $146.72. 1,416,478 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,652,287. Futu has a one year low of $70.60 and a one year high of $202.53. The company has a market cap of $20.41 billion, a PE ratio of 16.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 0.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $166.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $171.47.

Futu (NASDAQ:FUTU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 18th. The company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $822.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $631.51 million. Futu had a return on equity of 30.59% and a net margin of 47.11%. On average, analysts expect that Futu will post 4.94 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Futu

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FUTU. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Futu by 805.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,126,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,933,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,171 shares in the last quarter. Aspex Management HK Ltd boosted its holdings in Futu by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. Aspex Management HK Ltd now owns 3,371,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,650,000 after purchasing an additional 919,724 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. bought a new position in Futu in the third quarter valued at $149,432,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Futu by 113.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,544,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,826,000 after buying an additional 822,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tredje AP fonden lifted its position in Futu by 3,579.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 688,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,650,000 after buying an additional 669,300 shares in the last quarter.

Futu Company Profile

Futu Holdings Ltd. is a technology-driven brokerage and wealth management company that provides online brokerage services, market data, and investment tools to retail and institutional clients. Headquartered in Hong Kong and listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker FUTU, the company operates digital trading platforms that combine order execution, real-time quotes, news, and research tools to serve active investors and wealth management customers.

The firm’s product suite includes brokerage access to equities, exchange-traded funds and derivatives across major markets, margin financing, initial public offering (IPO) subscription services, wealth management products and discretionary investment solutions.