eXp World (NASDAQ:EXPI) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

eXp World Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPI - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $7.67, but opened at $8.30. eXp World shares last traded at $9.32, with a volume of 416,483 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, DA Davidson upgraded eXp World from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $10.75 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday.

eXp World Stock Down 2.2%

The company has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of -59.53 and a beta of 2.66. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $8.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.52.

eXp World (NASDAQ:EXPI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The technology company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.12). eXp World had a positive return on equity of 5.75% and a negative net margin of 0.47%. The firm had revenue of $954.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $994.83 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.02) earnings per share. eXp World's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that eXp World Holdings, Inc. will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

eXp World Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. eXp World's payout ratio is -181.82%.

Insider Activity at eXp World

In other eXp World news, CEO Glenn Darrel Sanford sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.76, for a total value of $244,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,828,400 shares in the company, valued at $388,725,184. This represents a 0.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 250,000 shares of company stock worth $2,282,350 in the last quarter. 27.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of eXp World

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of eXp World in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in eXp World by 880.8% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 4,806 shares of the technology company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 4,316 shares during the period. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new stake in eXp World in the first quarter worth about $51,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in eXp World during the 4th quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in eXp World by 41.2% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,365 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.17% of the company's stock.

About eXp World

eXp World Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides cloud-based real estate brokerage services for residential homeowners and homebuyers. The company operates through North American Realty, International Realty, Virbela, and Other Affiliated Services segments. It provides Virbela, a cloud-based technologies that provides data, lead generation, and marketing tools for real estate agents and employees.