Pale Fire Capital SE Lowers Holdings in Ziff Davis, Inc. $ZD

Key Points

• Pale Fire Capital SE reduced its Ziff Davis stake by 4.4%, selling 122,812 shares and retaining 2.66 million shares worth approximately $139.3 million. The position remains 7.76% of Ziff Davis and Pale Fire’s third-largest holding.
• Institutional ownership remains exceptionally high at 99.76%, with several major investors—including Jupiter Topco, Legal & General, and First Trust Advisors—building or initiating positions.
• Ziff Davis beat quarterly earnings expectations with adjusted EPS of $1.03 versus $0.81 forecast, although revenue fell 18.7% year over year. Analysts’ consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $56.62.

Pale Fire Capital SE cut its position in shares of Ziff Davis, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZD - Free Report) by 4.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,660,554 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 122,812 shares during the period. Ziff Davis comprises about 3.7% of Pale Fire Capital SE's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Pale Fire Capital SE owned about 7.76% of Ziff Davis worth $139,333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in Ziff Davis in the second quarter valued at about $187,893,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Ziff Davis by 2.7% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,526,329 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $147,963,000 after purchasing an additional 92,496 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Ziff Davis in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $94,314,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ziff Davis by 689.6% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 974,591 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $40,894,000 after acquiring an additional 851,163 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its position in shares of Ziff Davis by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 907,721 shares of the technology company's stock worth $31,906,000 after purchasing an additional 135,021 shares in the last quarter. 99.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ziff Davis

In other news, EVP Jeremy Rossen sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.00, for a total value of $376,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $679,714. This trade represents a 35.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bret Richter sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.88, for a total transaction of $843,840.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 29,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,370,958.72. This trade represents a 38.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,807 shares of company stock worth $1,695,424. Insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Ziff Davis Stock Performance

ZD stock opened at $56.69 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $53.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.14. Ziff Davis, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.45 and a fifty-two week 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a PE ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.09.

Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $286.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $286.10 million. Ziff Davis had a return on equity of 10.73% and a net margin of 48.57%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.24 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Ziff Davis from $48.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Ziff Davis from $48.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group increased their price target on Ziff Davis from $30.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ziff Davis from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $64.00 target price on shares of Ziff Davis in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.62.

About Ziff Davis

Ziff Davis, Inc is a digital media and internet company that operates a diverse portfolio of online brands, subscription-based services and performance marketing platforms. The company specializes in technology publishing and digital marketing solutions, offering content, reviews and insights tailored to consumer and enterprise audiences. Ziff Davis's flagship media properties include PCMag, which provides expert reviews and comparisons of consumer electronics and software, as well as IGN, a leading destination for gaming news, reviews and entertainment coverage.

Founded in 1927 by William B.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ZD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ziff Davis, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZD - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source