Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD) Receives “Neutral” Rating from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reiterated by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on ZD. UBS Group increased their target price on Ziff Davis from $30.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Ziff Davis from $48.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Ziff Davis from $48.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 target price on shares of Ziff Davis in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ziff Davis from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.62.

Ziff Davis Price Performance

NASDAQ:ZD opened at $55.29 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $54.09 and its 200 day moving average is $47.20. Ziff Davis has a 12 month low of $22.45 and a 12 month high of $58.06. The company has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.22. Ziff Davis had a return on equity of 10.73% and a net margin of 48.57%.The business had revenue of $286.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $286.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Insider Activity at Ziff Davis

In other Ziff Davis news, Director W. Brian Kretzmer sold 2,513 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.31, for a total transaction of $138,994.03. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,200. The trade was a 11.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jeremy Rossen sold 3,819 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.93, for a total transaction of $209,777.67. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 10,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,619.99. This represents a 26.41% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,732 shares of company stock worth $425,436. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ziff Davis

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Ziff Davis in the 2nd quarter worth about $228,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Ziff Davis during the second quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Varde Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Ziff Davis by 16.9% in the second quarter. Varde Management L.P. now owns 624,028 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,680,000 after buying an additional 90,000 shares during the period. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of Ziff Davis in the second quarter worth approximately $68,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new stake in shares of Ziff Davis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,978,000. 99.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ziff Davis

Ziff Davis, Inc is a digital media and internet company that operates a diverse portfolio of online brands, subscription-based services and performance marketing platforms. The company specializes in technology publishing and digital marketing solutions, offering content, reviews and insights tailored to consumer and enterprise audiences. Ziff Davis’s flagship media properties include PCMag, which provides expert reviews and comparisons of consumer electronics and software, as well as IGN, a leading destination for gaming news, reviews and entertainment coverage.

Founded in 1927 by William B.