Zillow Group, Inc. $Z Shares Purchased by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its Zillow Group stake by 11.9% in the second quarter, adding 32,387 shares to own 303,930 shares worth approximately $9.58 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 71.01% of Zillow.
• Zillow reported second-quarter EPS of $0.52, beating estimates of $0.45, while revenue of $772 million exceeded expectations of $758.1 million. The stock opened at $34.14 and remains well below its 52-week high of $93.88.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Zillow has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a $66.75 average price target, but several firms downgraded the stock or cut targets. Recent concerns include difficult real estate conditions, legal uncertainty from announced class-action litigation, and insider selling under pre-arranged trading plans.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z - Free Report) by 11.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 303,930 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 32,387 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.13% of Zillow Group worth $9,580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Zillow Group by 106.8% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 41,519 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,718,000 after acquiring an additional 21,439 shares during the period. Tiger Global Management LLC raised its position in 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 during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its position in Zillow Group by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 739,270 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $50,433,000 after purchasing an additional 75,682 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 17,458.4% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 73,921 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,043,000 after purchasing an additional 73,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Emmett Investment Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 353.9% in the 1st quarter. Emmett Investment Management LP now owns 96,236 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,897,000 after purchasing an additional 75,036 shares during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on Z shares. Evercore cut shares of Zillow Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Zillow Group in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Zillow Group from $95.00 to $70.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered Zillow Group from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Zillow Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Zillow Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.75.

Zillow Group News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Zillow Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan maintained an “overweight” rating while lowering its price target from $76 to $62. The revised target still implies substantial upside, signaling continued confidence in Zillow’s long-term prospects. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: A bullish Seeking Alpha analysis highlighted Zillow’s strong second-quarter performance, including 18% revenue growth and strength in mortgage, rentals, and for-sale businesses. Zillow’s preferred model now generates 61% of connections, potentially increasing revenue per connection and supporting faster EBITDA growth as the transition matures. Zillow Group: Preferred Monetization Drives The Bull Case
• Positive Sentiment: Another analysis argued that investors may be interpreting revenue-recognition timing delays as a structural growth problem, suggesting the recent weakness could be overstated. Zillow: The Market Is Mistaking A Revenue Delay For A Growth Problem
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short interest was zero shares as of August 11, unchanged from the prior report, with a zero-day short-interest ratio. The data appears anomalous and provides little actionable insight into trading sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced its Zillow price target to $34, reinforcing concerns about near-term valuation and operating conditions. KBW Cuts Zillow Group Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms publicized a securities class-action lawsuit and lead-plaintiff deadline involving Zillow. Although these announcements do not establish wrongdoing, they add legal and reputational uncertainty.
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary also noted that Zillow continues to operate in a difficult real estate market, which could constrain housing-related demand despite ongoing growth. Is Zillow Stock a Buy After Falling Nearly 13% in One Day?

Zillow Group Stock Up 1.2%

NASDAQ:Z opened at $34.14 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.91. The company has a market cap of $7.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 155.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.98. Zillow Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.23 and a 52 week high of $93.88.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.07. Zillow Group had a return on equity of 2.32% and a net margin of 1.96%.The business had revenue of $772.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $758.10 million. On average, analysts expect that Zillow Group, Inc. will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zillow Group news, General Counsel Bradley D. Owens sold 3,364 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.23, for a total transaction of $125,241.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 65,245 shares in the company, valued at $2,429,071.35. The trade was a 4.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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, CEO Jeremy Wacksman sold 9,072 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.54, for a total transaction of $331,490.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 153,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,616,161.46. This represents a 5.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 42,910 shares of company stock worth $1,605,732 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 23.76% of the company's stock.

Zillow Group Profile

Zillow Group, Inc is an online real estate marketplace company that operates a portfolio of consumer-facing websites and mobile apps designed to connect buyers, sellers, renters, homeowners and real estate professionals. The company's platforms aggregate property listings, rental listings, and related information to help users search for homes, estimate property values and connect with agents and service providers. Zillow generates revenue primarily through advertising and lead-generation services for real estate professionals, property managers and mortgage lenders.

Key products and services include the Zillow and Trulia consumer websites and apps, which provide searchable listings, photos, neighborhood data and the company's automated home valuation tool known as the “Zestimate.” Zillow also offers a rentals marketplace, a mortgage marketplace and tools for home buying and selling such as Zillow Premier Agent for agent advertising and leads, as well as ancillary services designed to support transactions, including closing and title-related offerings.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding Z? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z - 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