Short Interest in SINA Co. (NASDAQ:SINA) Increases By 140.9%

SINA Co. (NASDAQ:SINA) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,480,000 shares, an increase of 140.9% from the December 15th total of 2,690,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,140,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.7 days. Approximately 12.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SINA. BidaskClub cut SINA from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, December 31st. ValuEngine upgraded SINA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of SINA from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.00.

SINA stock opened at $41.79 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.62 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 2.65, a current ratio of 2.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $42.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.47. SINA has a twelve month low of $26.04 and a twelve month high of $45.68.

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SINA. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in SINA by 60.9% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,530,015 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $65,194,000 after acquiring an additional 579,397 shares during the period. Pentwater Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of SINA in the 3rd quarter worth $22,230,000. Kingstown Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of SINA in the 3rd quarter worth $12,783,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of SINA by 135.1% in the 2nd quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 325,579 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,692,000 after buying an additional 187,112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maso Capital Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of SINA in the 3rd quarter worth $6,392,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.19% of the company’s stock.

About SINA

SINA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an online media company in the People's Republic of China and internationally. The company operates SINA.com, an online media property that provides region-focused format and content, including feeds from news providers; business news coverage and personal finance columns; sporting events information; entertainment news and events; automobile-related news and service information; technology updates; interactive video products, such as news, sports, and entertainment; and education, digital, fashion, luxury, health, collectibles, travel, and other interest-based channels.

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