ADRs in Focus: China Finance Online up on outlook

American Depositary Shares of China Finance Online rose on Friday, after the online financial information company hiked its first-quarter sales outlook on growth in a business segment.

China Finance forecast revenue for the first quarter between $10.5 million and $10.8 million, up from previous expectations for $10 million to $10.5 million.

The company also forecast higher adjusted earnings, now expected to fall between $4.5 million and $5 million, for the quarter ended March 31, up from previous guidance of $3.7 million to $4 million.

The Bank of New York Asia ADR Index, which tracks shares of companies based in China, India, Australia and elsewhere, rose 0.52 points to 169.13. ADR stands for American Depositary Receipt, which is a security designed to allow U.S. investors to trade shares of companies based overseas.

China Finance said the new outlook is based on solid growth in its subscription service business. Registered user accounts and paying subscribers lifted results in the segment.

Shares of the company rose $4.01, or 18.2 percent, to $26.05 in afternoon trading.