Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The stock had previously closed at $36.10, but opened at $30.81. Zillow Group shares last traded at $30.9570, with a volume of 1,466,165 shares trading hands.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Zillow Group from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Evercore downgraded Zillow Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Zillow Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Zillow Group from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Zillow Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Bradley D. Owens sold 3,364 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.23, for a total transaction of $125,241.72. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 65,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,429,071.35. The trade was a 4.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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. Also, CEO Jeremy Wacksman sold 9,072 shares of Zillow Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.54, for a total transaction of $331,490.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 153,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,616,161.46. The trade was a 5.57% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,910 shares of company stock valued at $1,605,732. Insiders own 25.03% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Zillow Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Zillow Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zillow reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.52 per share, above the roughly $0.44–$0.45 consensus estimate, while revenue of $772 million also exceeded expectations. Revenue increased 18% year over year, providing evidence of continued business growth. Zillow Q2 earnings beat
• Positive Sentiment: July home sales rose 7% year over year, the strongest annual increase of the year, potentially supporting Zillow’s transaction-related businesses. Zillow July market report

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Zillow Group by 4.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG boosted its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 3,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 0.5% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 55,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,269,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Motley Fool Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 4,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Zillow Group Trading Up 0.5%

The company has a market cap of $7.69 billion, a PE ratio of 152.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.54.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.07. Zillow Group had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 2.32%. The firm had revenue of $772.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $758.10 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Zillow Group, Inc. will post 0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Zillow Group

Zillow Group, Inc is an online real estate marketplace company that operates a portfolio of consumer-facing websites and mobile apps designed to connect buyers, sellers, renters, homeowners and real estate professionals. The company’s platforms aggregate property listings, rental listings, and related information to help users search for homes, estimate property values and connect with agents and service providers. Zillow generates revenue primarily through advertising and lead-generation services for real estate professionals, property managers and mortgage lenders.

Key products and services include the Zillow and Trulia consumer websites and apps, which provide searchable listings, photos, neighborhood data and the company’s automated home valuation tool known as the “Zestimate.” Zillow also offers a rentals marketplace, a mortgage marketplace and tools for home buying and selling such as Zillow Premier Agent for agent advertising and leads, as well as ancillary services designed to support transactions, including closing and title-related offerings.