Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD) Research Coverage Started at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD) in a research report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating and a $60.00 target price on the technology company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on ZD. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ziff Davis from $30.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Ziff Davis from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of Ziff Davis in a report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ziff Davis from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Ziff Davis from $48.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ziff Davis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.75.

Ziff Davis Price Performance

NASDAQ:ZD opened at $56.22 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $54.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.38. Ziff Davis has a one year low of $22.45 and a one year high of $58.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16.

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

Insider Activity at Ziff Davis

In other Ziff Davis news, EVP Jeremy Rossen sold 3,819 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.93, for a total transaction of $209,777.67. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 10,643 shares in the company, valued at $584,619.99. This represents a 26.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Lori A. Tansley sold 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.76, for a total transaction of $76,664.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,000.92. This represents a 64.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 7,732 shares of company stock valued at $425,436 over the last quarter. 3.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ziff Davis

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

About Ziff Davis

Ziff Davis, Inc is a digital media and technology company that operates a portfolio of internet-based brands serving consumers and businesses. Its properties provide technology news and reviews, gaming and entertainment content, health and wellness information, shopping resources, and specialized business media.

The company’s brands include PCMag, IGN, Mashable, Lifehacker, RetailMeNot, Humble Bundle, Spiceworks, Ookla and Speedtest, among others. Ziff Davis also offers cybersecurity, marketing technology and consumer subscription services, including products and platforms designed to support privacy, online security, connectivity testing and digital engagement.

Ziff Davis traces its roots to the publishing company founded by William B.