Futu Holdings Limited (NASDAQ:FUTU) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Futu Holdings Limited (NASDAQ:FUTU) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,160,000 shares, a drop of 6.7% from the December 15th total of 4,460,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,240,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Futu Trading Up 8.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FUTU traded up $7.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $87.53. 5,329,866 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,312,648. The firm has a market cap of $12.06 billion, a PE ratio of 21.45, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.75. Futu has a 12 month low of $43.61 and a 12 month high of $130.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $84.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.81.

Futu Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a — dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $2.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Futu

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Futu by 71.5% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,521,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,813,000 after acquiring an additional 634,369 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Futu by 502.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 558,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,444,000 after purchasing an additional 465,961 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Futu during the third quarter worth approximately $39,943,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Futu in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,547,000. Finally, Yong Rong HK Asset Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Futu by 2,525.3% in the third quarter. Yong Rong HK Asset Management Ltd now owns 393,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,667,000 after buying an additional 378,800 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup downgraded Futu from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $79.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Futu from $80.20 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Futu from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $70.00 to $115.00 in a report on Monday, November 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.40.

About Futu

Futu Holdings Limited provides digitalized securities brokerage and wealth management product distribution service in Hong Kong and internationally. It offers online financial services, including securities and derivative trades brokerage, margin financing and fund distribution services through its Futubull and Moomoo digital platforms.