BuzzFeed (NASDAQ:BZFD) Lowered to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• BuzzFeed's rating has been downgraded from "hold" to "sell" by Wall Street Zen, while Craig Hallum has maintained a "strong-buy" rating for the company.
• The stock opened at $1.97, with a market cap of $72.97 million, and has seen a fifty-two week low of $1.61.
• BuzzFeed reported a loss of ($0.28) earnings per share for the latest quarter, missing estimates, but had higher revenue of $46.39 million compared to expectations.

Wall Street Zen cut shares of BuzzFeed (NASDAQ:BZFD - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

Separately, Craig Hallum upgraded shares of BuzzFeed to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Strong Buy".

BuzzFeed Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of BuzzFeed stock traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $1.91. 189,498 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 386,822. The company has a 50 day moving average of $2.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.09. BuzzFeed has a fifty-two week low of $1.61 and a fifty-two week high of $5.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $70.75 million, a P/E ratio of 7.64 and a beta of 3.46.

BuzzFeed (NASDAQ:BZFD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.28) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.05). BuzzFeed had a negative return on equity of 28.11% and a net margin of 4.75%.The business had revenue of $46.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.43 million. BuzzFeed has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder John S. Johnson III sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.45, for a total value of $122,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,041,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,550,927.75. This trade represents a 4.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Janet L. Rolle sold 24,474 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.11, for a total transaction of $51,640.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 122,223 shares of the company's stock, valued at $257,890.53. This trade represents a 16.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 19.21% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BuzzFeed

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its position in BuzzFeed by 1,461.0% during the fourth quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 251,973 shares of the company's stock worth $673,000 after acquiring an additional 235,831 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new stake in BuzzFeed during the fourth quarter worth approximately $391,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in BuzzFeed during the fourth quarter worth approximately $597,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in BuzzFeed by 1,006.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 210,909 shares of the company's stock worth $563,000 after acquiring an additional 191,841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in BuzzFeed by 359.5% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 792,318 shares of the company's stock worth $2,115,000 after acquiring an additional 619,892 shares during the last quarter. 37.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BuzzFeed Company Profile

BuzzFeed, Inc, a digital media company, distributes content across owned and operated, as well as third-party platforms. The company offers BuzzFeed, a go-to authority for entertainment, pop culture, and Internet with articles, lists, quizzes, videos, and original series; BuzzFeed News, a pocket friendly newsroom; Tasty, a platform for food content; HuffPost, media platform for news, politics, opinion, entertainment, features, and lifestyle content.