Brean Murray Carret Raises Price Target on SINA (SINA), Bullish on Core Earnings

Brean Murray Carret & Co. is reiterating its Buy rating on shares of SINA Corporation (NASDAQ: SINA) and is becoming more more bullish as its raises its price target from $128 to $132 on the shares.

The company reported solid third quarter results with both revenue and earnings topping expectations. Non-GAAP earnings totaled $0.26 per share on $125.6 million in sales, while the consensus was looking for $0.23 per share in earnings on $124.74 million in sales. The firm notes the upside was largely due to higher than expected demand from FMCG and e-commerce sectors.

Brean Murray Carret encourages investors not to underestimate the earnings power of the company's core business although Weibo continues to drag and will likely continue to into 2012. The firm believes "social media advertising and value added services may be the key models for Weibo's initial monetization in 2012." They believe the Chinese government is in support of SINA's Weibo.

Management at SINA offered fourth quarter guidance with a revenue range of $128-$131 million and brand advertising guidance of $103-$105 million.

Brean Murray Carret is reducing its fiscal 2011 and 2012 earnings estimates from $0.93 per share and $1.23 per share to $0.92 per share and $1.20 per share.

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on SINA Corporation click here. For more ratings news on SINA Corporation click here.

Shares of SINA Corporation closed at $86.94 yesterday.

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