Porch Group (NASDAQ:PRCH) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Porch Group (NASDAQ:PRCH) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

PRCH has been the topic of several other reports. Zacks Research raised Porch Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Porch Group from $16.25 to $16.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Porch Group from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Craig Hallum set a $25.00 target price on shares of Porch Group in a report on Thursday. Finally, Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Porch Group from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Porch Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.79.

Porch Group Stock Down 1.8%

NASDAQ:PRCH opened at $20.18 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 252.25 and a beta of 3.18. Porch Group has a 1-year low of $6.36 and a 1-year high of $21.49. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $17.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.53, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.45.

Porch Group (NASDAQ:PRCH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $143.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $134.65 million. Porch Group had a net margin of 1.81% and a return on equity of 42.30%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Porch Group will post -0.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Porch Group

In related news, CEO Matt Ehrlichman sold 26,135 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.35, for a total value of $453,442.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,930,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $276,402,832.65. This trade represents a 0.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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, COO Matthew Neagle sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.46, for a total value of $823,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 1,940,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,944,004.30. This trade represents a 2.51% 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. Insiders have sold 378,054 shares of company stock worth $6,627,272 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 27.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Porch Group in the 2nd quarter worth $128,995,000. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC acquired a new position in shares of Porch Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,230,000. Park West Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Porch Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $53,194,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Porch Group in the second quarter valued at about $21,979,000. Finally, Granahan Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Porch Group by 9.4% in the first quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 12,674,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,880,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084,559 shares during the period. 48.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Porch Group

Porch Group, Inc is a technology company that provides software and services for the residential home services industry. Its platform is designed to help businesses manage customer relationships, scheduling, communications, payments, marketing and other operational workflows.

The company serves professionals involved in the home-buying and home-maintenance ecosystem, including home inspection companies and other service providers. Its offerings have included specialized software platforms such as Inspection Support Network and Floify, which support inspection management and mortgage-related workflows, respectively.

Founded in 2012 by Matt Ehrlichman, Porch initially operated as a consumer-focused home improvement marketplace before expanding into vertical software and related services.