Lizhi's Stock Rips 30% After Citron Compares Company To Clubhouse And Roblox

Shares of China’s leading audio live-streaming company Lizhi Inc - ADR LIZI traded higher by 30% on Tuesday after Citron Research editor Andrew Left said he likes the stock.

What Happened? In a pair of new tweets, Left called Lizhi a “cross-section of Clubhouse, Roblox and NOW dating” and set a $30 price target for the stock.

Left linked to this YouTube video demonstrating how the company’s “focus on games has expanded into dating.”

Why It’s Important: Left said Lizhi compares extremely favorably to competitor Yalla Group Ltd - ADR YALA from a valuation perspective. Yala shares also traded higher by 16.2% on Tuesday.

See also: How to Buy Roblox IPO (RBLX) Stock

“On 2021 EV/Sales $LIZI trades at 1.4x sales vs 17.2X Yala. $LIZI should benefit from de-platforming of big tech in China. In other words LIZI is valued at $7 per MAU vs $YALA at $221,” Left wrote.

Left has taken a lot of heat from critics since taking a short position and setting a $20 price target for GameStop Corp. GME in January, a move that angered Reddit’s WallStreetBets community.

See Also: A Short Seller Joins Benzinga's 'Power Hour' To Talk GameStop. The Rest Is History.

Following the initial surge in GameStop and alleged threats against his family from GameStop traders, the longtime activist short-seller recently said he will no longer be issuing short reports.

Tuesday’s bullish tweets on Lizhi were Left’s first tweets since Feb. 25, when he recommended GameStop’s board of directors consider a takeover of Esports Entertainment Group Inc GMBL.

Benzinga’s Take: Left always takes a lot of criticism for his missed short calls, and he has been wrong up to this point on GameStop. However, Citron’s annual shareholder letter recently revealed Left had a big year in 2020. Citron’s average exposure for the year was 20% long, and the fund generated a net return of 155% on the year.