Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) Stock Jumps 7.5% – Should You Buy?

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Z has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on 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. Evercore downgraded shares of Zillow Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Zillow Group from $60.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen lowered Zillow Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Zillow Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.71.

Zillow Group Trading Up 7.7%

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $31.92 and its 200-day moving average is $35.08. The firm has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 138.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 2.04.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $772.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $758.10 million. Zillow Group had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 2.32%. Analysts forecast that Zillow Group, Inc. will post 0.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Zillow Group

In related news, CFO Jeremy Hofmann sold 5,661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total transaction of $193,492.98. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,021,541.92. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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, insider Errol Samuelson sold 3,154 shares of Zillow Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.24, for a total transaction of $107,992.96. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 130,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,481,502.40. This represents a 2.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 38,539 shares of company stock valued at $1,323,800 over the last three months. Insiders own 25.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zillow Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its position in shares of Zillow Group by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 10,953,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $747,241,000 after buying an additional 94,569 shares during the last quarter. Tiger Global Management LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,312,000 shares in the last quarter. Contour Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Zillow Group by 29.8% during the 4th quarter. Contour Asset Management LLC now owns 3,260,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $222,430,000 after buying an additional 747,808 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake 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 valued at $78,461,000 after acquiring an additional 338,803 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 455.6% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 641,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,550,000 after purchasing an additional 526,142 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.