Sina Corporation (SINA)

[eastunder]

Sina Stock Falls on Anti-Porn Crackdown: China Overnight

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-24/sina-stock-falls-on-anti-porn-crackdown-china-overnight.html?cmpid=yhoo

By Alexandria Baca Apr 24, 2014 2:50 PM MT


Sina Corp. (SINA), the owner of China’s biggest Twitter-like service, sank to a one-year low in New York after the state-run news agency said two of the company’s licenses will be revoked amid a crackdown on online pornography.

American depositary receipts of Sina declined 3.1 percent to $51.64 yesterday, extending this week’s plunge to 8.7 percent. The Bloomberg index of the most-traded Chinese stocks in the U.S. rose 0.1 percent to 99.48. YY Inc., a social entertainment website, dropped the most in two weeks while video website Youku Tudou Inc. slid 5.3 percent. Baidu Inc. (BIDU), the owner of China’s largest Internet search engine, surged in after hours trading as earnings beat analysts’ estimates.

Twenty articles and four videos posted on Sina contained lewd and pornographic content, Xinhua News Agency said yesterday, citing a statement from the National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications. The government will revoke licenses on Internet publication as well as audio and video and impose “a large number of fines,” Xinhua reported. Shares of online companies fell earlier in the week after China closed 110 websites as part of the nationwide crackdown.

“There’s a lack of information on exactly what will be impacted and there are a lot of investors that just don’t want to deal with it,” Cheng Cheng, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities LLC in Portland, Oregon, said in a phone interview. The investigation also signals other social websites “could be potential targets of a crackdown.”

Wan Rui, a Sina spokeswoman, didn’t respond to two calls after regular business hours and an e-mail seeking comment. The company apologized yesterday for allowing pornographic content and said it will accept “strict” punishment, according to a statement on its official microblog.

3,300 Accounts

China, home to 618 million Internet users, censors the Internet by blocking websites such as Facebook and deleting postings that it deems as a threat to social stability. About 3,300 accounts on China-based social networking services, including Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s WeChat and Sina Weibo, were deleted as part of the anti-porn campaign, Xinhua reported April 20.

The country’s top court said last year Internet users could face jail time for posting comments deemed defamatory that are viewed by more than 5,000 people or retweeted more than 500 times, giving authorities a legal basis to put those who post rumors on trial.

“The fear is that this becomes a bigger issue,” Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer at New York-based Solaris Asset Management LLC, which helps manage about $1.5 billion in assets, said by phone. The Chinese government “could impose stronger controls over the Internet and really limit public access to a number of different venues.”

[eastunder]

Sina Faces License Loss, Fines Over Pornographic Content


By Bloomberg News Apr 24, 2014 10:59 AM MT


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-24/sina-faces-license-loss-fines-over-pornographic-content.html?cmpid=yhoo

Sina Corp., parent of China’s largest microblogging service, may be stripped of two of its Internet licenses by the nation’s government as the result of an official crackdown on Internet pornography.

Twenty articles and four videos posted on Sina.com contained lewd and pornographic content, Xinhua News Agency said yesterday, citing a statement from the National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications. The Web portal’s Internet publication and audio and video dissemination licenses will be revoked and the company may also face “a large number of fines,” the official news service reported.

The ban will mean Sina won’t be able to post content from print publications, audio and video, Beijing News said earlier. The timing of the punishment’s implementation and the fine amount aren’t clear, and Sina can appeal, Xinhua said, citing an official with the surname Zhou at the government office. Videos wouldn’t load on Sina’s Website and all book content was suspended pending “self-inspection” as of 11:30 p.m. in Beijing yesterday.

“This news caused a lot of uncertainties because the company didn’t break down revenue contributions from its online publishing and online video,” Ella Ji, an equity research analyst at Oppenheimer & Co Inc. in New York, said in a telephone interview. “We think their contribution is relatively very small.”

China censors the Internet heavily, blocking websites including Facebook and deleting postings on microblogging services like Sina’s Weibo Corp. that it deems a threat to social stability. The government said this month that the official campaign against pornography will continue until November.

Serious Enforcement

The penalties against Sina show the campaign is getting “more and more serious,” Ji said.

The company apologized yesterday and said it will accept “strict” punishment from the Internet regulator for allowing some pornographic content, according to a statement posted on its official microblog. It said it’s is in touch with the regulator and will try to minimize the damage to its operations.

Wan Rui, a Sina spokeswoman, didn’t answer two calls to her mobile phone yesterday evening or immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

People involved in spreading the content were investigated by police, CCTV reported. Last year, Sina.com received administrative punishments twice for spreading online publications with banned content, Xinhua said.

Weibo, owned by Sina and Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd., surged 19 percent in its first day of trading earlier this month after raising $285.6 million in a U.S. initial public offering.

[eastunder]

Web giant Sina caught in China's 'lewd and pornographic' crackdown

http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-sina-porn-china-20140424,0,5228014.story#axzz2zqjCjnKD

By Julie Makinen
April 24, 2014, 9:06 a.m.



BEIJING — A Chinese government crackdown on “lewd and pornographic” content has ensnared Internet giant Sina.com, with authorities saying Thursday that inappropriate articles and videos were found on the portal and that the company would be stripped of its online publication and video licenses.

The National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications said tips from the public led to the discovery of 20 articles and four videos on the site that violated regulations. "Some of these articles were as long as 500-plus chapters and clocked millions of clicks ... imperiling social morals and seriously harming minors' physical and mental health," the statement said.

In a letter posted online, Sina said it was “deeply saddened” by the developments and offered “sincere apologies.” “We are sorry and ashamed,” the note continued, adding that the company had established a rectification team to deal with the situation and invited users to continue to “monitor and criticize us.”

China began a crackdown on influential bloggers and commentators last year, and in recent weeks has gone after what it calls online rumor mongers and “fake news.” This month, authorities kicked off a “Cleaning the Web 2014” campaign, with the national anti-porn office saying it would do thorough checks of search engines, websites, Internet TV services, set-top boxes and even USB drives.

According to the official Xinhua News Agency, the campaign has resulted in the shutdown of some 110 websites and the deletion of about 3,300 accounts on China-based social networking services and online forums.

Exactly when the penalties against Sina would take effect was unclear; video and other content was still available on the site late Thursday night. Sina says the majority of its revenue comes from advertising and mobile services and it was not immediately clear what the business impact would be.

Sina Corp. stock is traded in the U.S. and the company’s microblogging service, Weibo, separately went public in the United States this month.

According to Xinhua, among the offending content found on Sina was an online novel entitled “A village woman’s dream lover: high quality village doctor” and a video called “bikini beauty show.” The anti-porn office said offensive content had been found on Sina last year and the latest discoveries indicated that Sina had "not learned a lesson at all” and had turned “a cold shoulder on social responsibility."


http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-sina-porn-china-20140424,0,5228014.story#ixzz2zqjKeeUU

[eastunder]

You're welcome.

[eastunder]

Good idea!

[02opida]

Thanks for sharing

[02opida]

still watching @ 51

[eastunder]

4/15 SINA Corp Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Analysts (NASDAQ:SINA)

Posted by Zach Kirkland on Apr 15th, 2014 // No Comments

http://www.wkrb13.com/markets/292022/sina-corp-receives-consensus-rating-of-buy-from-analysts-nasdaqsina/

SINA Corp logoSINA Corp (NASDAQ:SINA) has been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the twenty-one analysts that are presently covering the stock, Analyst RN reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have given a buy recommendation to the company.

The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $87.48.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SINA shares. Analysts at Mizuho downgraded shares of SINA Corp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. They now have a $52.20 price target on the stock, down previously from $87.00.

Separately, analysts at UBS AG upgraded shares of SINA Corp from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They now have a $88.00 price target on the stock.

Finally, analysts at Pacific Crest upgraded shares of SINA Corp from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They now have a $88.00 price target on the stock.

SINA Corp (NASDAQ:SINA) traded down 2.33% on Tuesday, hitting $51.21. The stock had a trading volume of 872,722 shares. SINA Corp has a 1-year low of $45.54 and a 1-year high of $92.83. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $63.92 and its 200-day moving average is $75.21. The company has a market cap of $3.408 billion and a P/E ratio of 79.44.

SINA Corp (NASDAQ:SINA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $197.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.84 million. Analysts expect that SINA Corp will post $1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SINA Corporation (NASDAQ:SINA), incorporated on July 9, 1997, is an online media company serving China and the global Chinese communities.

[eastunder]

Weibo cuts IPO size amid selloff in technology stocks

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/weibo-valued-3-46-billion-032506396.html

Reuters) - China's Weibo Corp, a Twitter-like messaging service company, raised a less-than-expected $286 million after it cut the size of its U.S. initial public offering amid a selloff in technology shares and concerns about slowing user growth.

The offering comes ahead of the much-anticipated IPO of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, which holds stake in Weibo.

Alibaba is expected to raise about $15 billion this year in what could be the biggest internet IPO since Facebook Inc's listing in 2012.

Weibo, controlled by Web portal company Sina Corp, sold 16.8 million American depositary shares (ADSs) at $17 each, the company said on Thursday.

At the offer price, Weibo is valued at $3.46 billion.

Weibo's shares are due to start trading on the Nasdaq on Thursday under the symbol "WB."

The company, whose name means "micro blog" in Chinese, had earlier planned to sell 20 million ADSs at between $17 and $19 each.

The company priced the shares at the lower end of the range because of the recent stock market turmoil, particularly in technology shares, a banker who worked on the IPO told Reuters.

Weibo also intentionally sold fewer shares than initially planned to lower dilution. "We wanted to have a deal that works from a market perspective," said the banker, who declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

There has been a pullback in the equity markets as fears of stretched stock valuations turn investors to safer sectors such as utilities.

High-flying technology and biotechnology shares have borne the brunt of the pullback, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index recording its biggest drop in two-and-a-half years last week.

CENSORSHIP CONCERNS

Since its launch in 2009, Weibo has become China's water cooler, where nearly 600 million Internet users discuss everything from Korean soap operas to China's politics.

Like many other Internet firms, the company has to operate in a heavily censored and tightly controlled media environment in China.

A rule that took effect in September imposes a prison sentence of up to three years on people who knowingly share false information online.

The crackdown on rumors had a chilling effect on Weibo postings. Research commissioned by The Telegraph newspaper found that posts fell as much as 70 percent after the crackdown.

"Much of the decline happened in the second half of 2013 when the Chinese government started to crack down on rumors being distributed on the sites," said Marvin Lo, an analyst at Mizuho Securities in Hong Kong.

Weibo is also grappling with the flight of users to messaging apps such as Tencent Holdings Ltd's WeChat. Unlike Weibo, where posts are visible to anyone, WeChat conversations are private.

Weibo had 143.8 million monthly active users in March.

The company's revenue almost tripled to $188.3 million in 2013, while net loss narrowed to $38.1 million from $102.5 million.

Goldman Sachs (Asia) LLC and Credit Suisse were the lead underwriters to the offering.

[eastunder]

Weibo prices IPO at $17/ADS - underwriter

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/weibo-prices-ipo-17-ads-015435228.html

April 16 (Reuters) - China's Weibo Corp priced its initial public offering at $17 per American Depositary Share at the bottom of its planned range, an underwriter told Reuters, valuing the microblogging service at $3.46 billion.

The Twitter-like service, owned by web portal Sina Corp , sold 16.8 million American Depositary Shares (ADSs) in the offering, raising $285.6 million.

The company had planned to sell the shares at between $17 and $19 per share.

Weibo's shares are expected to begin trading under the symbol "WB" on the Nasdaq on Thursday.

Goldman Sachs (Asia) LLC and Credit Suisse were the lead underwriters to the offering.

[eastunder]

Spin-Offs In The Spotlight: The 'Spin-Cycle'

http://www.forbes.com/sites/joecornell/2014/04/14/spin-offs-in-the-spotlight-the-spin-cycle/?partner=yahootix

SINA Corp. (SINA-$52.19, market cap $3.5 billion) will carveout Weibo in an IPO this week. SINA is an Internet media company operating Chinese language destination sites. Weibo is a Chinese micro blogging website and a leading social media platform in China. Weibo expects to price the IPO in the range of $17 to $19 per American Depository Share (ADR). The pricing is expected to be announced on April 16 and the shares are expected to begin trading on the NASDAQ on April 17 under the ticker “WB”. SINA will carve-out part 11% of Weibo in the IPO and retain 56.9%. Alibaba will own 32% post IPO. Each share of the parent (SINA) will have 1.74 shares of Weibo embedded post IPO (based on the midpoint price of $18). This suggests each share of SINA will have about $31 worth of Weibo (per SINA share) after the carve-out.

[eastunder]

4/11/14 SINA Announces up to US$500 Million Share Repurchase Program?

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/sina-announces-us-500-million-123000754.html

PR Newswire
SINA Corporation
April 11, 2014 8:30 AM




SHANGHAI, April? 11,??? 2014? /PRNewswire/ -- SINA Corporation (the "Company" or "SINA") (NASDAQ GS: SINA), a leading Internet media company serving China and the global Chinese communities, today announced that the board of directors of the Company has approved a new share repurchase program whereby SINA is authorized to repurchase its own ordinary shares with an aggregate value of up to US$500 million. The Company expects to fund the repurchase out of its existing cash balance.? The share repurchase may be effected on the open market at prevailing market prices and/or in negotiated transactions off the market from time to time as market conditions warrant and will be implemented in accordance with applicable requirements of Rule 10b5-1 and/or Rule 10b-18 under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

[02opida]

watching

[eastunder]

SINA Corporation (SINA) Flagged As A Storm The Castle Stock


By Daniel Mirkin 03/06/14 - 10:41 AM EST

http://www.thestreet.com/story/12520125/1/sina-corporation-sina-flagged-as-a-storm-the-castle-stock.html?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO


Editor's Note: Any reference to TheStreet Ratings and its underlying recommendation does not reflect the opinion of TheStreet, Inc. or any of its contributors including Jim Cramer or Stephanie Link.

Trade-Ideas LLC identified SINA Corporation (SINA) as a "storm the castle" (crossing above the 200-day simple moving average on higher than normal relative volume) candidate. In addition to specific proprietary factors, Trade-Ideas identified SINA Corporation as such a stock due to the following factors:


?SINA has an average dollar-volume (as measured by average daily share volume multiplied by share price) of $315.2 million.

?SINA has traded 3.1 million shares today.

?SINA is trading at 3.56 times the normal volume for the stock at this time of day.

?SINA crossed above its 200-day simple moving average.


'Storm the Castle' stocks are worth watching because trading stocks that begin to experience a breakout can lead to potentially massive profits. Once psychological and technical resistance barriers like the 200-day moving average are breached on higher than normal relative volume, the stock is then free to find new buyers and momentum traders who can ultimately push the stock significantly higher. Regardless of the impetus behind the price and volume action, when a stock moves with strength and volume it can indicate the start of a new trend on which early investors can capitalize on. In the event of a well-timed trading opportunity, combining technical indicators with fundamental trends and a disciplined trading methodology should help you take the first steps towards investment success.


More details on SINA:

SINA Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates as an online media company in the People's Republic of China. SINA has a PE ratio of 101.4. Currently there are 8 analysts that rate SINA Corporation a buy, 1 analyst rates it a sell, and 2 rate it a hold.

The average volume for SINA Corporation has been 3.0 million shares per day over the past 30 days. SINA has a market cap of $4.5 billion and is part of the technology sector and internet industry. The stock has a beta of 2.19 and a short float of 7.5% with 1.14 days to cover. Shares are down 20.6% year-to-date as of the close of trading on Wednesday.


TheStreetRatings.com Analysis:

TheStreet Quant Ratings rates SINA Corporation as a hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and growth in earnings per share. However, as a counter to these strengths, we find that the company's return on equity has been disappointing.

Highlights from the ratings report include:

? SINA's revenue growth has slightly outpaced the industry average of 16.5%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues rose by 21.2%. Growth in the company's revenue appears to have helped boost the earnings per share.

? SINA has no debt to speak of therefore resulting in a debt-to-equity ratio of zero, which we consider to be a relatively favorable sign. Along with this, the company maintains a quick ratio of 4.02, which clearly demonstrates the ability to cover short-term cash needs.

? The gross profit margin for SINA CORP is rather high; currently it is at 63.82%. It has increased from the same quarter the previous year. Regardless of the strong results of the gross profit margin, the net profit margin of 13.74% trails the industry average.

? Powered by its strong earnings growth of 164.28% and other important driving factors, this stock has surged by 32.04% over the past year, outperforming the rise in the S&P 500 Index during the same period. Setting our sights on the months ahead, however, we feel that the stock's sharp appreciation over the last year has driven it to a price level which is now relatively expensive compared to the rest of its industry. The implication is that its reduced upside potential is not good enough to warrant further investment at this time.

? The company's current return on equity has slightly decreased from the same quarter one year prior. This implies a minor weakness in the organization. Compared to other companies in the Internet Software & Services industry and the overall market, SINA CORP's return on equity significantly trails that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.

[eastunder]

An Overview Of Sina's Businesses And Our $83 Valuation For Its Stock


Trefis Team
Trefis Team, Contributor


http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2014/01/03/an-overview-of-sinas-businesses-and-our-83-valuation-for-its-stock/?partner=yahootix


Quick Take



•Sina is a Chinese online media company that derives the majority of its revenue from advertising.

•It earned $530 million in revenues in 2012 with a gross profit margin of 54%. We estimate that revenues will triple and gross margins to cross 65% by the end of our review period.

•Sina’s market share of display advertising in China declined from 11.7% in 2009 to 7.2% in 2012. We expect this to stabilize over our forecast horizon on account of strong monetization at its popular microblog site, Weibo.

•The company also offers mobile value added services, and other paid services such as paid email services and online games. The two business divisions together generated about 22% of Sina’s revenue in 2012.

•While we expect the revenue contribution of MVAS to decline in the future, we forecast the revenue contribution of other paid services to increase in the future.

Sina is a Chinese online media company that enables Internet users to access professional media and user generated content from the web and mobile devices. It provides its services mainly through: 1) Sina.com and Sina.cn for online news and content; 2) Weibo.com for microblogging; and, 3) Sina Mobile for mobile value added services.

Sina earned approximately $360 million in revenue in 2009. This increased to $530 million in 2012 and is expected to have neared $650 million for the year just ended, on the back of strong growth in revenue from advertisements placed on its website. We think that Sina will continue to perform well in the advertising space driven by improving monetization of its Weibo platform. We forecast Sina to triple its revenue by the end of our review period. Sina’s company-wide gross margin has historically been below 60%. We expect this to cross 65% by the end of our forecast horizon as the company’s investments start generating higher returns.

Our price estimate of $83 for Sina is in line with its market price. In this article, we provide a quick snapshot of how Sina makes money and the important segments that contribute to its growth.


How Does Sina Make Money? Who Are Its Key Customers?

Sina generates revenue from display advertising on its websites, mobile value added services and other fee based services, such as paid email services and casual games. Advertising revenues are derived from online advertisements placed on particular areas of the company’s websites. Advertisers can place adds in different formats and over different periods of time. For advertising, its key customers are global corporations doing business in Greater China and domestic companies in each of the regions in which Sina operates.

MVAS revenues are derived from mobile phone users by providing them with news and other content subscriptions, picture and logo downloads, ring tones, ring back tones, mobile games and access to music files. Sina charges mobile users on a monthly or per-usage basis for using MVAS.


Our model divides Sina’s business into three main operating segments:

1. Advertising: Sina derives about 78% of its revenue from display advertising and earns 53% gross margin on this business. The online advertising market in China nearly tripled in size from $1.9 billion in 2009 to $5.7 billion in 2012. During the same period, we estimate Sina’s share of the market declined from 11.7% to 7.2% as growth in Sina’s advertising revenue lagged behind growth in China’s online advertising market.

However, Sina has taken a number of steps to accelerate its monetization efforts for Weibo, a microblog analogous to a hybrid of Twitter and Facebook. In April, Alibaba (a leading e-commerce player in China) entered into a strategic alliance with Sina to purchase an 18% stake in Weibo for $586 million. Sina expects this deal to rake in $380 million in advertising and other revenues for Weibo over the next three years.

Additionally, Weibo has been increasingly gaining popularity among users in China. In Q3 2013, the daily active users on Weibo increased 11.2% sequentially to reach 60.2 million, and advertising revenues from Weibo increased 46% to $43.7 million. Going forward, we estimate Sina’s share of the online display ad market will marginally increase on account of its efforts to improve monetization at Weibo.

Sina’s advertising gross margin declined in 2011 and 2012 due to heavy investments in building the Weibo platform. However, Sina is now experiencing an increase in profitability as Weibo monetization is starting to pick up. We believe that Sina’s advertising gross margin could climb further over our forecast horizon as Sina scales up its advertising business, and as the investments in Weibo and the strategic partnership with Alibaba pay off.



2. Mobile Value Added Services: MVAS generate about 13% of Sina’s revenue with a gross margin of about 40%. The revenue contribution of MVAS stood at 33% in 2009 and has been declining since then. We expect the trend to continue going forward.

Sina’s ability to offer mobile value added services to users is highly influenced by the policies of the various operators such as China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom. The industry is subject to various regulations which keep changing, making it difficult for companies to keep astride with the changes.

We believe that the operator policy changes will continue to be a risk to Sina’s MVAS business. We also think that competitors like Kongzhong, TOM Online, Linktone and Hurray, some of whom have access to greater financial resources, could be a threat to Sina’s MVAS market share. Based on this we estimate MVAS revenue to continue declining for the rest of our forecast period.

The stringent regulatory environment in the industry has led to a decline in MVAS gross margins. We expect gross margins to continue to decline in the future.

3. Other Paid Services: Sina offers other paid services such as paid email services, online games, and eReading. These services contribute 9% to Sina’s total revenue. With a gross margin of 77%, it is the most profitable division for the company.

Sina’s revenue from other paid services increased by more than 55% annually since 2009 to reach $37 million in 2012. We estimate the revenue from paid services will quadruple by the end of our forecast period. We believe that the rising Internet penetration and the growing popularity of online games in China will fuel growth in revenue.

We expect Sina to incur increasing expenses in order to attract users in the highly competitive online gaming market in China, and therefore, we estimate the gross margin on paid services to decline marginally in the future before stabilizing.

[eastunder]

It seems we are on our way. Nice day.

[wallst-winest]

Agreed...

[tradeologist]

Positive fundamental

One positive fundamental is that SINA has $1.22 billion in total cash and no debt.

Now, if only SINA could stay above $80, then that would send a positive technical signal.

[wallst-winest]

Remember one thing, fundamentals lead technicals and not the other way around. $75 may prove to be strong support/great buying opp. Blow-out earnings provide the support. Wish I kept my $50 stock...

[tradeologist]

It's in a transitional phase

If it drops below 75 then you better get out!

[wallst-winest]

Adding on any pullbacks..

[eastunder]

Sina: Weibo Partnership With Alibaba Is Working, Citi Raises TP To $104


By Shuli Ren


http://blogs.barrons.com/emergingmarketsdaily/2013/11/13/sina-weibo-partnership-with-alibaba-is-working-citi-raises-tp-to-104/?mod=yahoobarrons&ru=yahoo

Sina (SINA) reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings today. Q3 revenue grew 22% year-on-year to $185 million, above the $183 million consensus. Earnings per share came in at $0.42, beating the consensus $0.32. The company guided Q4 revenue of$195-199 million (40-43% year-on-year growth), above the consensus $187 million.

The new Weibo partnership with Alibaba seems to be working, on two fronts.

First, according to management, 48% of Weibo’s daily active users already linked their Weibo accounts to their Taobao accounts. Weibo should be able to benefit from those mega sales events likes the Singles’ Day sale this Monday.

Second, Weibo now contributes to 30% of Sina’s total sales and is the revenue growth driver. Revenue from Weibo grew 128% year-on-year and Alibaba contributed to almost half of Weibo’s advertising dollar.

Citi analysts Ravi Sarathy, Muzhi Li, and Gregory Zhao raised their Buy target price from $96 to $104. On valuation, the analysts used integrated P/E:

We believe the Street should use an integrated valuation methodology for the company: either DCF or P/E or some combination thereof, rather than SOTP, given the strategically and operationally inseparable nature of the portal and Weibo.

On that [P/E] basis, applying a PEG of 0.7x 2014E (0.8x 2015E), to capture the “J-Curve” nature of the company’s move through breakeven to profitability, gives a P/E of 49x ’14E falling to 32x ‘15E and a TP of US$104. Buy.

Oppenheimer analyst Andy Yeung, who also has a Buy on Sina with $90 price target, thinks we should not overlook the older portal business:

Portal ad resumed growth for the first time since 2Q12. However, the strong performance of vertical websites, e.g. BITA, SFUN, JOBS, QUNR, WUBA, etc., suggests that the potential of SINA’s portal hasn’t been fully realized. Management indicated it’s planning to revamp the vertical channels on its portal to unlock hidden value.

Sina last traded at $75.9.

[ECole]

Q3 cc transcript


http://www.earningsimpact.com/Transcript/84411/SINA/SINA-Corporation---Q3-2013-Earnings-Call

[tradeologist]

Results improving but trailing last year

Net income for the third quarter of 2013 was $25.4 million, compared to $9.9 million for the same period last year.

Net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 totaled $0.7 million, compared to $29.4 million for the same period last year.

[eastunder]

SINA Reports Third Quarter 2013 Financial Results
By PR Newswire, November 12, 2013, 04:41:00 PM




SHANGHAI, Nov. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SINA Corporation (the "Company" or "SINA") (NASDAQ GS:SINA), a leading Internet media company serving China and the global Chinese communities, today announced its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2013.

Third Quarter 2013 Highlights

Net revenues increased 21% year over year to $184.6 million. Non-GAAP net revenues increased 22% year over year to $179.9 million, reaching the high end of the Company's guidance between $176.0 million and $180.0 million.
Advertising revenues grew 26% year over year to $151.6 million, within the Company's guidance between $151.0 million and $153.0 million.
Non-advertising revenues increased 4% year over year to $33.1 million. Non-GAAP non-advertising revenues increased 5% year over year to $28.4 million, exceeding the Company's guidance between $25.0 million and $27.0 million, mainly driven by the growth of Weibo value-added Services ("Weibo VAS") revenues.
Net income attributable to SINA grew 157% year over year to $25.4 million, or $0.37 diluted net income per share attributable to SINA. Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA grew 144% year over year to $28.5 million, or $0.42 non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA.
Highlights for the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2013

Net revenues increased 20% year over year to $468.1 million. Non-GAAP net revenues increased 21% year over year to $454.0 million.
Advertising revenues grew 21% year over year to $366.4 million.
Non-advertising revenues increased 16% year over year to $101.7 million. Non-GAAP non-advertising revenues increased 19% year over year to $87.6 million.
Net income attributable to SINA was $0.7 million, or less than $0.01 diluted net loss per share attributable to SINA. Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA was $44.3 million, compared to $1.4 million for the same period last year. Non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA was $0.65, compared to $0.01 for the same period last year.
"We are pleased with our results for the third quarter with significant growth in profitability driven primarily by strong momentum in Weibo monetization," said Charles Chao, Chairman and CEO of SINA. "We are at the dawn of leveraging user behaviors to provide more interesting and relevant advertising and services. Our efforts to diversify Weibo's monetization while continuing to invest and innovate SINA's offerings are seeing not only revenue acceleration but also continuing profit margin expansion."

Financial Results

For the third quarter of 2013, SINA reported net revenues of $184.6 million, compared to $152.4 million for the same period last year. Non-GAAP net revenues for the third quarter of 2013 totaled $179.9 million, compared to $147.7 million for the same period last year.

Online advertising revenues for the third quarter of 2013 were $151.6 million, compared to$120.6 million for the same period last year. Weibo advertising revenues for the third quarter of 2013 grew 125% year over year to $43.7 million. Non-advertising revenues for the third quarter of 2013 totaled $33.1 million, compared to $31.8 million for the same period last year. Non-GAAP non-advertising revenues for the third quarter of 2013 totaled $28.4 million, compared to $27.1 million for the same period last year. Weibo VAS revenues, which include revenue share from web games and Weibo membership fees, grew 121% year over year to $9.7 million.

Net revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 were $468.1 million, compared to $390.2 million for the same period last year. Non-GAAP net revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 totaled $454.0 million, compared to $376.1 million for the same period last year. Advertising revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 totaled $366.4 million, compared to $302.3 million for the same period last year. Non-GAAP non-advertising revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 were $87.6 million, compared to $73.9 million for the same period last year, mainly due to the increase in Weibo VAS revenues, partially offset by the decrease in MVAS revenues.

Gross margin for the third quarter of 2013 was 64%, compared to 54% for the same period last year. Advertising gross margin was 64%, compared to 55% for the same period last year. Non-GAAP advertising gross margin increased to 64%, up from 56% for the same period last year, reflecting SINA's efforts to scale its core advertising business profitably. Non-advertising revenue gross margin for the third quarter of 2013 was 64%, compared to 51% for the same period last year. Non-GAAP non-advertising revenue gross margin for the third quarter of 2013 increased to 58%, up from 43% for the same period last year, primarily due to the shift in revenue mix from low margin MVAS to higher margin Weibo VAS.

Gross margin for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 was 57%, compared to 52% for the same period last year. Non-GAAP advertising gross margin was 58% for the nine months ended September 30, 2013, compared to 52% for the same period last year, reflecting the Company's efforts to scale its advertising business profitably. Non-GAAP non-advertising revenue gross margin for the nine months ended September 30, 2013was 52%, up from 44% for the same period last year, primarily due to the shift in revenue mix from low margin MVAS to higher margin Weibo VAS.

Operating expenses for the third quarter of 2013 totaled $94.9 million, compared to $79.2 million for the same period last year. Non-GAAP operating expenses for the third quarter of 2013 totaled $90.5 million, compared to $73.7 million for the same period last year. The increase in non-GAAP operating expenses was primarily due to higher personnel costs and increase in marketing expenditures.

Operating expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 were $271.9 million, compared to $216.2 million for the same period last year. Non-GAAP operating expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 were $235.7 million, compared to $204.6 million for the same period last year, mainly due to increase in personnel costs arising from additional headcount and general salary increases, as well as higher marketing expenditures.

Income from operations for the third quarter of 2013 was $23.2 million, compared to $3.8 million for the same period last year. Non-GAAP income from operations for the third quarter of 2013 was $23.4 million, compared to $5.4 million for the same period last year.

Loss from operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 was $4.9 million, compared to $14.1 million for the same period last year. Non-GAAP income from operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 was $23.0 million, compared to a non-GAAP loss from operations of $14.2 million.

Non-operating income for the third quarter of 2013 was $7.7 million, compared to $8.3 million for the same period last year. Non-operating income for the third quarter of 2013 included $3.2 million, or $5.7 million on a non-GAAP basis, in earnings from equity investments, which were accounted for under the equity-method accounting and reported on a one-quarter lagging basis.

Non-operating income for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 was $11.3 million, compared to $45.2 million for the same period last year. Non-operating income for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 included $6.0 million, or $14.7 million on a non-GAAP basis, in earnings from equity investments, which were accounted for under the equity-method accounting and reported on a one-quarter lagging basis.

Net income attributable to SINA for the third quarter of 2013 was $25.4 million, compared to $9.9 million for the same period last year. Diluted net income per share attributable to SINA for the third quarter of 2013 was $0.37, compared to $0.14 for the same period last year. Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA for the third quarter of 2013 was $28.5 million, compared to $11.7 million for the same period last year. Non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA for the third quarter of 2013 was $0.42, compared to $0.17 for the same period last year.

Net income attributable to SINA for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 totaled $0.7 million, or less than $0.01 diluted net loss per share attributable to SINA, compared to $29.4 million, or $0.43 diluted net income per share attributable to SINA for the same period last year. Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA for the nine months ended September 30, 2013, was $44.3 million, or $0.65 diluted net income per share, compared to $1.4 million, or $0.01 non-GAAP diluted net income per share, for the same period last year.

As of September 30 2013, SINA's cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaled $1,217.9 million, compared to $713.6 million as of December 31, 2012. The increase in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments was mainly due to the net cash received from Alibaba for its investment in Weibo in the prior quarter. For the third quarter of 2013, cash provided by operating activities was $12.3 million, capital expenditures totaled $24.3 million and depreciation expenses amounted to $8.6 million.

Business Outlook

SINA estimates that its non-GAAP net revenues for the fourth quarter of 2013 will be between $190 million and $194 million, including advertising revenues to be between $160 million and $162 million and non-GAAP non-advertising revenues to be between $30 million and $32 million. Non-GAAP net revenues and non-GAAP non-advertising revenues exclude the recognition of $4.7 million in deferred license revenues related to SINA's equity investment in E-House/CRIC.



Read more: http://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/sina-reports-third-quarter-2013-financial-results-20131112-01462#ixzz2kTHajcpV

[eroger]

Thanks I see you are on Sina as well
Darn stock frustrating me.

[Komando Robot]

Ummm

[eroger]

Where you think it closes today

[Komando Robot]

THIS IS GOING TO $100 SOON

SINA Nov 16 '13 $100 Call $1.30

[Andrew21330]

In at 83? Any thoughts?

[ECole]

Q2 call updates

Total revenues grew by 19.7% on yearly basis while revenues from Weibo grew by 205% approximately for the same period
http://www.earningsimpact.com/Transcript/82768/SINA/SINA-Corporation---Q2-2013-Earnings-Call

[eastunder]

SINA +7.78% on high volume

[eastunder]

SINA’s (NASDAQ: SINA) blogging website, Weibo, grew its user base by 6% quarter-over-quarter to 536 million in the first quarter. This website contributed revenue of $25.8 million, which is around 20% of total revenue.

http://beta.fool.com/shwetadubey/2013/07/17/are-these-chinese-internet-companies-poised-to-pla/40259/?source=eogyholnk0000001

Weibo's revenue comes from two segments: value added services and advertising. However, the company wants to diversify Weibo’s revenue by including e-commerce services for its users. Therefore, on April 29 it formed a strategic alliance agreement with privately owned Alibaba group, a major player in providing e-commerce platforms to Chinese residents. Under this agreement, Alibaba acquired 18% of SINA’s shares for $586 million. This deal will accelerate SINA’s entry into e-commerce, and Weibo will account for 30% of the total revenue by the end of 2013.

Value added services on mobile devices accounted for 13%, or $15.9 million, of the company’s revenue in the first quarter. There were approximately 1.1 billion mobile users, out of a population of 1.4 billion, by the end of 2012. With the high number of mobile users, the company is developing more applications, or apps, for mobile devices including apps for financial news, sports, and many more. This will increase revenue from mobile value added services to $66 million by the end of 2014.

[eastunder]

SINA

7-18-13

63.31

[eastunder]

Sina Earnings: All Eyes On Alibaba's Weibo Stake And Ad Growth

http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2013/05/15/sina-earnings-all-eyes-on-alibabas-weibo-stake-and-ad-market-growth/?partner=yahootix

[wallst-winest]

Still have my $75 PT for SINA 2013. Buy if she closed the gap at $51.

[eastunder]

SINA Open Gap 51.22


Open Gap

Direction Date range  
 up Apr-29-2013 51.22 to 54.77 

[eastunder]

Upgrades for April 30, 2013

Oppenheimer Reiterates Outperform on Sina Corp (SINA)

http://www.streetinsider.com/Analyst+Comments/Oppenheimer+Reiterates+Outperform+on+Sina+Corp+%28SINA%29/8290133.html

Oppenheimer today maintained an Outperform rating on SINA Corporation (NASDAQ: SINA) with a price target of $70.00. Analyst Andy Yeung said based on a sum-of-parts valuation, he thinks SINA should trade at between $70 and $100 per share. This would represent a 24 to 77 percent premium to its current share price.

_____________________________________________________________

Jefferies Upgrades SINA Corporation (SINA) to Buy

http://www.streetinsider.com/Upgrades/Jefferies+Upgrades+SINA+Corporation+%28SINA%29+to+Buy/8290166.html

Jefferies today upgraded SINA Corporation (NASDAQ: SINA) from Hold to Buy with a price target of $75.00 (from $50.00). The upgrade follows news yesterday that Alibaba was paying $586 million for an 18% stake in the company.

Commenting, analyst Cynthia Meng said, "We think the strategic alliance will add incremental value to Sina immediately with better visibility on its future ad revenue stream and that the option for Alibaba to increase its stake will provide potential upside. The strategic alliance is expected to generate at least USD380mn more in
ad revenue on Weibo over the next three years."

[eastunder]

Sina says Alibaba buys 18 percent stake in Weibo for $586 million
Reuters –


(Reuters) - China's Sina Corp said e-commerce company Alibaba Group has bought an 18 percent stake in its microblogging service, Weibo, for about $586 million.

Sina has also granted an option to Alibaba to increase its stake in Weibo to up to 30 percent within a stipulated time.

[eastunder]

SINA Forms Strategic Alliance with Alibaba to Enable Social Commerce

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/sina-forms-strategic-alliance-alibaba-120000314.html


SHANGHAI, April 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- SINA Corporation (NASDAQ GS: SINA) ("SINA" or the "Company"), a leading online media company serving China and the global Chinese communities, announced today that it has reached an agreement on a strategic alliance between several entities affiliated with SINA, including PRC subsidiaries of Weibo Corporation ("Weibo"), and several entities affiliated with Alibaba Group ("Alibaba"), including Taobao (China) Software Co., Ltd. and Zhejiang Tmall.com Technology Co., Ltd., to jointly explore social commerce and develop innovative marketing solutions to enable merchants on Alibaba e-commerce platforms to better connect and build relationships with Weibo users.

The two companies will cooperate in the areas of user account connectivity, data exchange, online payment and online marketing, among other things, and will explore new business models for social commerce based on the interactions of the hundreds of millions of users on Weibo and on Alibaba's e-commerce platforms. The strategic alliance is expected to generate approximately $380 million in advertising and social commerce services revenues in aggregate for Weibo over the next three years.

Separately, the Company announced that Alibaba, through a wholly owned subsidiary, has invested $586 million to purchase preferred and ordinary shares representing approximately 18% of Weibo on a fully-diluted basis. SINA has also granted an option to Alibaba to enable Alibaba to increase its ownership in Weibo to 30% on a fully-diluted basis at a mutually agreed valuation within a certain period of time in the future.

"We are excited to partner with the largest e-commerce platform in China to develop social commerce. We believe e-commerce will play a vital role in building an eco-system around Weibo's open platform," said Charles Chao, Chairman and CEO of SINA. "Weibo and Alibaba's e-commerce platforms are natural partners. Together we provide a unique proposition not only to existing online merchants, but also to individuals or businesses, who wish to offer products and services on social networking platform to take advantage of the traffic shift toward social and mobile Internet."

"We believe that this strategic alliance helps to create a stronger Weibo. It affirms our view of the vitality and importance of social media in unleashing value in e-commerce activities. We believe that the cooperation of our two robust platforms will bring unique and valuable services to Weibo users, as well as making the mobile Internet a core part of Alibaba's strategy," said Jack Ma, Chairman of Alibaba.

About SINA

SINA is an online media company serving China and the global Chinese communities. Our digital media network of SINA.com (portal), SINA.cn (mobile portal) and Weibo.com (social media) enable Internet users to access professional media and user-generated content in multi-media formats from the web and mobile devices and share their interests to friends and acquaintances.

SINA.com offers distinct and targeted professional content and a range of complementary offerings on each of our region-specific websites. SINA.cn provides information and entertainment content from SINA portal customized for mobile (WAP) users. Based on an open platform architecture to host organically developed and third-party applications, Weibo.com is a form of social media, featuring microblogging services and social networking services that allow users to connect and share information on our platform anywhere, anytime and with anyone.

Through these properties and other product lines and businesses, SINA offers an array of online media and social networking services to our users to create a rich canvas for businesses and brand advertisers to connect and engage with their targeted audiences. SINA generates the majority of its revenues from online advertising, MVAS and fee-based services.

[eastunder]

SINA Reports Fourth Quarter 2012 Financial Results

Press Release: SINA Corporation – 21 hours ago..

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/sina-reports-fourth-quarter-2012-213000443.html

SHANGHAI, Feb. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- SINA Corporation (NASDAQ GS: SINA), a leading online media company serving China and the global Chinese communities, today announced its unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2012.

Fourth Quarter 2012 Highlights
•Net revenues increased 4% year over year to $139.1 million. Non-GAAP net revenues increased 4% year over year to $134.4 million, within the Company's guidance between $132.0 million and $136.0 million.
•Advertising revenues grew 7% year over year to $110.7 million, within the Company's guidance between $110.0 million and $112.0 million.
•Non-advertising revenues decreased 4% year over year to $28.5 million. Non-GAAP non-advertising revenues decreased 5% year over year to $23.8 million, reaching the high end of the Company's guidance between $22.0 million and $24.0 million.
•Net income attributable to SINA was $2.4 million, or $0.03 diluted net income per share attributable to SINA. Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA was $9.0 million, or $0.13 non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA.

Fiscal 2012 Highlights
•Net revenues increased 10% year over year to $529.3 million. Non-GAAP net revenues increased 10% year over year to $510.6 million.
•Advertising revenues grew 12% year over year to $412.9 million.
•Non-advertising revenues increased 2% year over year to $116.4 million. Non-GAAP non-advertising revenues increased 2% year over year to $97.7 million.
•Net income attributable to SINA was $31.7 million, or $0.47 diluted net income per share attributable to SINA. Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA was $10.4 million, or $0.15 non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA.

"2012 was a year of investment for SINA. We are delighted that Weibo continued to gain popularity and Weibo monetization was off to a good start," said Charles Chao, CEO and Chairman of SINA. "In 2013, we will continue to improve user experience and expand the scale of Weibo monetization, while turn our focus to mobile Internet for all of our major product lines."

Fourth Quarter 2012 Financial Results

For the fourth quarter of 2012, SINA reported net revenues of $139.1 million, compared to $133.4 million for the same period last year. Non-GAAP net revenues for the fourth quarter of 2012 totaled $134.4 million, compared to $128.7 million for the same period last year.

Online advertising revenues for the fourth quarter of 2012 were $110.7 million, compared to $103.7 million for the same period last year. Non-advertising revenues for the fourth quarter of 2012 totaled $28.5 million, compared to $29.7 million for the same period last year. Mobile value-added services ("MVAS") revenues for the fourth quarter of 2012 decreased 38% year over year to $13.2 million, while the rest of non-GAAP non-advertising revenues grew 181% to $10.6 million, mainly from Weibo value added services ("VAS"). As the market in China shifts towards mobile Internet, the Company expects to further reallocate its resources away from the low-margin MVAS business to Weibo VAS.

Gross margin for the fourth quarter of 2012 was 57%, compared to 54% for the same period last year. Advertising gross margin for the fourth quarter of 2012 was 56%, the same as the corresponding period last year. Non-GAAP advertising gross margin for the fourth quarter of 2012 was 57%, also the same as last year. MVAS gross margin for the fourth quarter of 2012 was 45%, compared to 35% for the same period last year, due to a shift in product mix.

Operating expenses for the fourth quarter of 2012 totaled $73.8 million, compared to $66.7 million for the same period last year. Non-GAAP operating expenses for the fourth quarter of 2012 were $69.0 million, compared to $62.3 million for the same period last year. The increase in non-GAAP operating expenses was primarily due to higher personnel costs, lease expenses and infrastructure spending, which were partially offset by lower marketing expenditures.

Income from operations for the fourth quarter of 2012 was $5.6 million, compared to $6.0 million for the same period last year. Non-GAAP income from operations for the fourth quarter of 2012 was $6.4 million, compared to $6.7 million for the same period last year.

Non-operating loss from for the fourth quarter of 2012 was $2.1 million, compared to a non-operating income of $3.8 million from the same period last year. Non-operating loss in the fourth quarter of 2012 included $4.4 million in losses from equity investments, or $0.4 million in losses on a non-GAAP basis, which were accounted for under the equity-method accounting and reported on a one-quarter lagging basis.

Net income attributable to SINA for the fourth quarter of 2012 was $2.4 million, compared to $9.3 million for the same period last year. Diluted net income per share attributable to SINA for the fourth quarter of 2012 was $0.03, compared to $ 0.14 for the same period last year. Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA for the fourth quarter of 2012 was $9.0 million, compared to $14.0 million for the same period last year. Non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA for the fourth quarter of 2012 was $0.13, compared to $0.21 for the same period last year.

As of December 31, 2012, SINA's cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaled $713.6 million, compared to $673.5 million as of December 31, 2011. For the fourth quarter of 2012, cash provided by operating activities was $33.5 million, capital expenditures totaled $17.9 million and depreciation expenses amounted to $7.5 million.

Business Outlook

SINA estimates that its non-GAAP net revenues for the first quarter of 2013 will be between $115 million and $119 million, including advertising revenues to be between $94 million and $96 million, and non-GAAP non-advertising revenues to be between $21 million and $23 million. Non-GAAP net revenues and non-GAAP non-advertising revenues exclude the recognition of $4.7 million in deferred license revenues related to SINA's equity investment in E-House/CRIC.

[eastunder]

Sina Jumps on Unexpected Profit, Sales Forecast

By Lulu Yilun Chen - Feb 19, 2013 9:30 PM MT.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-19/sina-unexpectedly-posts-profit-as-advertising-sales-increase.html?cmpid=yhoo

Sina Corp., owner of China’s largest Twitter-like service, jumped in post-market New York trading after posting an unexpected profit and forecasting higher sales.

The company jumped as much as 7.8 percent from the price at the end of regular trading yesterday. It reported fourth-quarter net income of $2.4 million after the market close. Analysts had expected a $900,000 loss, based on the average of seven estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Sina also expects sales to rise at least 8 percent this quarter helped by rebounding economic growth and the number of users on its Weibo micro-blogging site surpassing 500 million. The Shanghai-based company is also developing applications for mobile devices to help fend off competition from Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s WeChat.

“First-quarter profit is estimated to improve from last year due to better ad sales on a stronger economy,” said Echo He, an analyst at Maxim Group LLC in New York. Cost control was also “better than estimated” in the last quarter, she said.

Sina rose as high as $57.66 in aftermarket trading. During regular hours, it fell 4.5 percent to $53.48.

The company’s ad sales increased 7 percent in the fourth quarter to $110.7 million, according to a statement. Overall revenue rose 4.3 percent to $139.1 million. Net income dropped 75 percent from a year earlier.

Baidu Inc., the operator of China’s largest search engine, posted the slowest profit growth in almost four years in the three months ended December. Fourth-quarter net income at Sohu.com Inc. fell 9 percent, according to a Feb. 4 statement.

Mobile Advertising

Sina predicted first-quarter non-GAAP sales of $115 million to $119 million, including advertising revenue of $94 million to $96 million. More than 30 percent of advertising revenue on Weibo could come from mobile devices, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Charles Chao said on a conference call.

“Everyone is talking about mobile Internet,” he said. “It’s like an investment bubble in the market.”

The number of registered users on Sina Weibo rose 73 percent last year to 503 million, according to the company. The average number of daily users was 46.2 million in December, 82 percent more than a year earlier. The speed of growth of active Weibo users slowed to 9 percent in the fourth quarter, Chao said.

[eastunder]

SINA: Q4 EPS 3c vs 14c Misses 5c Est

Tuesday , February 19, 2013 16:37ET

http://www.knobias.com/story.htm?eid=3.1.804c8254d9407fc60feb4b417bbfccc6a2948dfb2591a13bb7243c8e19afdd26

QUARTER RESULTS
SINA Corporation (SINA) reported Q4 results ended December 2012. Q4 Revenues were $139.10M; +8.10% vs yr-ago; BEATING revenue consensus by +3.92%. Q4 EPS was 3c; -78.57% vs yr-ago; MISSING earnings consensus by -40.00%.

Q4 RESULTS      Reported      Year-Ago     Y/Y Chg      Estimate    SURPRISE 
 ----------  ------------  ------------  ----------  ------------  ---------- 
 Revenues:       $139.10M      $128.68M      +8.10%      $133.85M      +3.92% 
 ----------  ------------  ------------  ----------  ------------  ---------- 
 EPS:                  3c           14c     -78.57%            5c     -40.00% 
 ----------  ------------  ------------  ----------  ------------  ----------

YEAR-END RESULTS
Co. also reported Year-End results ended December 2012. FY Revenues were $529.30M; +14.05% vs yr-ago; BEATING revenue consensus by +3.85%. FY EPS was 47c; +110.13% vs yr-ago; BEATING earnings consensus by +422.22%.

FY RESULTS      Reported      Year-Ago     Y/Y Chg      Estimate    SURPRISE 
 ----------  ------------  ------------  ----------  ------------  ---------- 
 Revenues:       $529.30M      $464.08M     +14.05%      $509.66M      +3.85% 
 ----------  ------------  ------------  ----------  ------------  ---------- 
 EPS:                 47c       ($4.64)    +110.13%            9c    +422.22% 
 ----------  ------------  ------------  ----------  ------------  ----------

[eastunder]

SINA

2/15/13

$56.95 +1.29 (2.32%) on 1,883,037, Above Avg volume.

intraday

[eastunder]

SINA 4Q/FY 2-19-13 AMC

SINA Corporation To Report Fourth Quarter And Fiscal Year 2012 Financial Results On February 19, 2013
Press Release: SINA Corporation – 5 hours ago.. .


SHANGHAI, Feb. 15 , 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- SINA Corporation (NASDAQ GS: SINA), a leading online media company and mobile value-added service (MVAS) provider for China and for global Chinese communities, will announce its unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2012 after the close of market on Tuesday February 19, 2013. Following the announcement, SINA's management team will host a conference call from 8 p.m. –9 p.m. Eastern Time on February 19, 2013 (or 9 a.m. –10 a.m. Beijing Time on February 20, 2013) to present an overview of the Company's financial performance and business operations.

[wallst-winest]

any news besides earnings soon?

[wallst-winest]

that is amazing!

[eastunder]

The funny part is the Beijing Public Security Bureau said it on its 'Sina Corp. Twitter-like Weibo page'.

LOL


That part cracked me up.

Technology, eh?

[wallst-winest]

It's up 2% now - stocks a hause...

[wallst-winest]

good for her!