What happened
Shares of Weibo (WB 0.49%) slumped on Tuesday after the Chinese internet stock received an analyst downgrade. Tuesday's decline adds to a brutal sell-off that begin about a year ago. Weibo stock was down about 12.3% at 12:30 p.m. EST. Over the past year, shares have shed nearly 60% of their value.
So what
Analysts at Nomura Instinet lowered their rating on Weibo stock to "neutral" on Tuesday, down from a previous "buy" rating. Along with the rating cut, the Nomura analysts also slashed their price target on the stock to $64. That's down from a previous price target of $74.
Image source: Getty Images.
An already tumbling stock price may have something to do with this downgrade. After peaking above $140 at the beginning of 2018, shares of the Chinese company now trade for just over $50. Many Chinese stocks tumbled in 2018, in part due to the U.S.-China trade war. Weibo did not escape that pain.
Now what
Weibo's financial results have been impressive in recent quarters. Revenue surged 44% year over year in the third quarter of 2018, and the company posted solid profit margins and growing earnings. The stock has become a lot cheaper relative to earnings over the past year, but a previously lofty valuation may have been part of the reason for the steep decline.
Check out the latest Weibo earnings call transcript.
