UPDATE: Nomura Reiterates Buy on SINA Following Results, Weibo Stake Talks

Nomura maintains its view on SINA

with a reaffirmed Buy rating and $90 price target. Nomura said, "Sina‟s 3Q12 results were largely in line with our estimates on the top line; the bottom line beat our estimates on higher-than-expected margins. Weibo accounted for 16% of brand ads revenue in 3Q12. Despite strong momentum of Weibo, the company guided soft for 4Q12F, expecting ads revenue to grow 6-8% y-y. We still have a positive bias on Sina, as Weibo had 424mn users at end-Sep and monetisation was on track, though Sina‟s near-term profit will likely be affected owing to continued spending on Weibo." SINA closed at $45.07 on Friday.