Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler set a $40.00 target price on shares of Ziff Davis in a report on Friday, August 8th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Ziff Davis from $42.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ziff Davis in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Ziff Davis from $40.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Ziff Davis from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.50.

Ziff Davis Stock Performance

NASDAQ ZD opened at $29.81 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.87 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Ziff Davis has a 12-month low of $28.55 and a 12-month high of $60.62.

Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76. Ziff Davis had a return on equity of 13.91% and a net margin of 4.57%.The company had revenue of $363.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $366.44 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. Ziff Davis’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Ziff Davis has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.640-7.28 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ziff Davis will post 5.93 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ziff Davis

In related news, Director Sarah Ann Fay purchased 1,354 shares of Ziff Davis stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $36.89 per share, for a total transaction of $49,949.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $871,304.91. This represents a 6.08% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ziff Davis

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Ziff Davis by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,273 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Ziff Davis by 6.7% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,447 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Ziff Davis by 1.4% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 41,167 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,246,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its position in Ziff Davis by 5.7% during the second quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 10,806 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 578 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ziff Davis by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 29,628 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,129,000 after buying an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. 99.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ziff Davis Company Profile

Ziff Davis, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital media and internet company in the United States and internationally. The company offers PCMag, an online resource for laboratory-based product reviews, technology news, buying guides, and research papers; Mashable for publishing technology and culture content; Spiceworks Ziff Davis provides digital content of IT products and services; retailMeNot, a savings destination platform; Offers.com, a coupon and deals website; and event-based properties, including BlackFriday.com, TheBlackFriday.com, BestBlackFriday.com, and DealsofAmerica.com.