UPDATE: Bank of America Reduces PO to $71 on SINA

Bank of America lowers its price objective to $71 on Neutral-rated SINA

to reflect slower growth in ads and Weibo active users. Bank of America says, "In today's post-result conference call, Sina indicated 1) a slowdown in its portal advertising due to a YoY decline in auto and ecommerce ads in 1Q12, 2) moderating Weibo user growth and a slight drop in active user rates, and 3) its plan to focus on a few key areas to monetize Weibo. We, therefore, reduced our estimates and SOTP PO to reflect a lower portal DCF-valuation, due to more modest portal ad estimates, and reduced option value of Weibo on slower user growth." SINA closed at $62.95 a share on Monday.