Insider Selling: QuinStreet (NASDAQ:QNST) CEO Sells 751,631 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• QuinStreet CEO Douglas Valenti sold 751,631 shares at an average price of $20.50, generating approximately $15.4 million. The sale was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan to cover tax withholding from vested equity awards, reducing his direct ownership by 43%.
• QuinStreet reported quarterly EPS of $0.50, beating estimates of $0.44, while revenue of $373.88 million exceeded the $359.95 million consensus forecast.
• Analyst sentiment has improved, with several firms upgrading the stock to “buy.” QuinStreet holds a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $22.00 average price target, while shares recently traded near $20.90.

QuinStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ:QNST - Get Free Report) CEO Douglas Valenti sold 751,631 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.50, for a total value of $15,408,435.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,278 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,423,699. The trade was a 43.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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.

QuinStreet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:QNST traded down $1.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $20.90. 2,178,429 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 834,224. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $14.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.82 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. QuinStreet, Inc. has a 12 month low of $10.28 and a 12 month high of $22.29.

QuinStreet (NASDAQ:QNST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The technology company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.06. QuinStreet had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 6.28%.The business had revenue of $373.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.95 million. On average, equities analysts expect that QuinStreet, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

QNST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of QuinStreet in a report on Friday. Lake Street Capital upgraded shares of QuinStreet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $21.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised QuinStreet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings raised QuinStreet from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of QuinStreet from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QuinStreet

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in QuinStreet in the first quarter worth $6,005,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in QuinStreet by 39.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 284,833 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,093,000 after buying an additional 80,862 shares during the period. OP Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of QuinStreet during the first quarter valued at about $1,779,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in shares of QuinStreet during the first quarter valued at about $949,000. Finally, Jacobs Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of QuinStreet by 21.6% in the first quarter. Jacobs Asset Management LLC now owns 1,134,300 shares of the technology company's stock worth $13,623,000 after buying an additional 201,800 shares during the period. 97.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About QuinStreet

QuinStreet, Inc operates a technology-based performance marketing platform that connects companies with prospective customers across multiple verticals. The company specializes in data-driven lead generation for financial services, education, insurance, healthcare, and home services firms. By leveraging proprietary targeting algorithms and real-time analytics, QuinStreet manages customized digital marketing campaigns to optimize customer acquisition and retention for its clients.

Through a portfolio of consumer-facing websites and comparison platforms, QuinStreet delivers targeted visitors who are actively researching products and services.

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