Short Interest in Futu Holdings Limited (NASDAQ:FUTU) Declines By 6.7%

Futu Holdings Limited (NASDAQ:FUTU) was the target of a large drop in short interest in 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 days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on FUTU shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of 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 research report on Monday, November 18th. Citigroup lowered Futu from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $79.00 to $95.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Futu from $80.20 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.40.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Futu

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FUTU. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Futu by 14.6% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Futu by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Futu by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $517,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Futu by 67.7% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 743 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Futu by 6.1% in the third quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the last quarter.

Futu Stock Up 8.9 %

FUTU traded up $7.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $87.53. 5,329,866 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,312,648. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $84.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.81. Futu has a 52-week low of $43.61 and a 52-week high of $130.50.

Futu Announces Dividend

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

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.