Futu (NASDAQ:FUTU) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Futu Holdings Limited (NASDAQ:FUTU) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $107.71, but opened at $114.80. Futu shares last traded at $115.42, with a volume of 1,391,411 shares.

The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.01. Futu had a net margin of 38.59% and a return on equity of 16.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on FUTU shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Futu from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Futu from $130.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Futu presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.20.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Futu

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hhlr Advisors LTD. grew its position in Futu by 285.2% in the 1st quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 4,307,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $440,872,000 after acquiring an additional 3,189,189 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Futu in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $116,315,000. Trivest Advisors Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Futu in the first quarter valued at approximately $98,651,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Futu by 883.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 989,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,262,000 after acquiring an additional 888,760 shares during the period. Finally, Yong Rong HK Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in Futu in the first quarter valued at $77,172,000.

Futu Stock Down 0.3%

The company’s fifty day moving average is $96.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.91. The stock has a market cap of $14.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.31, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.67.

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.