UPDATE: Barclays Lowers PT on Renren Following 4Q12 Results, 1Q13 Guidance

In a report published Monday, Barclays reiterated its Equal Weight rating on Renren

, but slightly lowered its price target from $4.20 to $3.90. Barclays noted, “Although the results were slightly better than we expected, management guided for 1Q13 to be slightly below Bloomberg consensus, which we believe is mainly from 1) the lack of new games during the quarter and 2) continued softness in advertising due to seasonality and the lag of the ad sentiment rebound. Based on its preliminary visibility, Renren said that its revenue for 2013 will rise at similar rate as 2012 of about 49%, driven by somewhat by a rebound in ad revenue and continued strength for online gaming but said that is commitment to investing in mobile, Nuomi and 56.com could lead to continued operating losses nearterm. We see its cash balance of US$905mn, or US$2.40 per share, as providing downside support and believe mid-term catalysts could come from earlier-than-expected profitability for Nuomi and 56.com.” Renren closed on Friday at $3.07.