Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) Shares Up 7.5% – What’s Next?

Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z) traded up 7.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $30.09 and last traded at $30.4440. Approximately 673,428 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 4,153,494 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.33.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on Z shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Zillow Group from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Evercore downgraded shares of Zillow Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Zillow Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Zillow Group from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Zillow Group in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.71.

Zillow Group Price Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.08. The company has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 138.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 2.04.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $772.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $758.10 million. Zillow Group had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 2.32%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Zillow Group, Inc. will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Zillow Group

In other Zillow Group news, insider Dan Spaulding sold 3,169 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.37, for a total transaction of $112,087.53. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 44,561 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,576,122.57. The trade was a 6.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Jeremy Hofmann sold 5,661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total transaction of $193,492.98. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,021,541.92. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,539 shares of company stock valued at $1,323,800. 25.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Zillow Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in Z. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 106.8% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 41,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,718,000 after purchasing an additional 21,439 shares during the period. Tiger Global Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 21.7% in the first quarter. Tiger Global Management LLC now owns 7,368,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $304,927,000 after buying an additional 1,312,000 shares in the last quarter. Emmett Investment Management LP grew its position in shares of Zillow Group by 353.9% in the 1st quarter. Emmett Investment Management LP now owns 96,236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,897,000 after acquiring an additional 75,036 shares during the period. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Zillow Group during the first quarter worth approximately $1,743,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Zillow Group by 21.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,896,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,461,000 after purchasing an additional 338,803 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Zillow Group Company Profile

Zillow Group, Inc is a technology company that operates digital real estate marketplaces and related services in the United States. Its platforms help consumers search for homes to buy or rent, research neighborhoods and property values, connect with real estate professionals, and manage aspects of the transaction process.

The company’s portfolio includes Zillow, Trulia, StreetEasy and HotPads, along with services such as Zillow Premier Agent, Zillow Rentals, ShowingTime+ and Zillow Home Loans.