Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) Stock Jumps 7.8% – Here’s What Happened

Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z)’s share price rose 7.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $33.48 and last traded at $33.74. Approximately 1,385,614 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 4,190,213 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.31.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on Z. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Zillow Group from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Zillow Group in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Zillow Group from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Zillow Group from $76.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Zillow Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.71.

Zillow Group Stock Up 8.5%

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.75. The company has a market capitalization of $7.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 154.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 2.04.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.07. Zillow Group had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 2.32%. The company had revenue of $772.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $758.10 million. Equities research analysts expect that Zillow Group, Inc. will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Errol G. Samuelson sold 3,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.24, for a total transaction of $107,992.96. Following the sale, the insider owned 130,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,481,502.40. This trade represents a 2.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Dan Spaulding sold 3,169 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.37, for a total value of $112,087.53. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 44,561 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,576,122.57. This represents a 6.64% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders sold 38,539 shares of company stock valued at $1,323,800. Company insiders own 25.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Zillow Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tiger Global Management LLC raised its holdings in Zillow Group by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. Tiger Global Management LLC now owns 7,368,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $304,927,000 after buying an additional 1,312,000 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 21.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,896,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,461,000 after buying an additional 338,803 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Zillow Group by 455.6% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 641,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,550,000 after acquiring an additional 526,142 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of Zillow Group by 7.2% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 491,834 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,352,000 after acquiring an additional 33,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Zillow Group by 199.9% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 439,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,182,000 after acquiring an additional 292,760 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Zillow Group

Zillow Group, Inc (NASDAQ: Z) operates a digital real estate marketplace in the United States. Its platforms help consumers search for homes, research neighborhoods and market conditions, connect with real estate professionals, and manage various steps in the home-buying, selling, renting and financing processes.

The company’s portfolio includes Zillow, Trulia, StreetEasy and HotPads, which provide property listings and real estate information. Zillow Group also offers services for real estate professionals, including marketing, lead generation, transaction management and showing coordination through products such as Zillow Premier Agent and ShowingTime+.

Through Zillow Home Loans and other affiliated services, the company provides or facilitates mortgage and closing-related solutions.