NerdWallet (NASDAQ:NRDS) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Buy"

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded NerdWallet from a "strong-buy" to a "buy" rating, reflecting a pullback in conviction from that firm.
• NerdWallet beat the quarter with $0.19 EPS vs. $0.17 expected and revenue of $225.4M (vs. $211.4M est.), with revenue up 22.6% year‑over‑year, and its board approved a $50M share repurchase program (~5% of shares outstanding).
• Analyst coverage is mixed—four Buy, three Hold and one Sell—giving an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $14.33, while the stock trades around $10.40 with a market cap near $695M.

NerdWallet (NASDAQ:NRDS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also commented on NRDS. Zacks Research upgraded shares of NerdWallet from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on NerdWallet from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered NerdWallet from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $9.00 in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on NerdWallet from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $14.33.

NerdWallet Stock Performance

Shares of NRDS opened at $10.40 on Friday. NerdWallet has a 1 year low of $7.55 and a 1 year high of $16.24. The company has a market cap of $694.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.25 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $10.58 and a 200-day moving average of $12.09.

NerdWallet (NASDAQ:NRDS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $225.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.37 million. NerdWallet had a net margin of 5.82% and a return on equity of 12.66%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. Analysts predict that NerdWallet will post 0.36 EPS for the current year.

NerdWallet announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Samuel Yount sold 71,988 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.32, for a total value of $742,916.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 173,973 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,795,401.36. This represents a 29.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Nicholas Tatum sold 10,151 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.45, for a total transaction of $116,228.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 47,202 shares of the company's stock, valued at $540,462.90. This trade represents a 17.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 86,043 shares of company stock valued at $901,317. Company insiders own 46.54% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NerdWallet

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of NerdWallet by 1,231.3% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 538,421 shares of the company's stock worth $7,296,000 after buying an additional 497,978 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new position in NerdWallet during the third quarter valued at about $2,812,000. Nuveen LLC grew its holdings in NerdWallet by 296.1% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 330,631 shares of the company's stock worth $4,480,000 after acquiring an additional 247,157 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in NerdWallet by 26.1% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,133,790 shares of the company's stock worth $12,200,000 after acquiring an additional 234,691 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its position in NerdWallet by 52.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 489,591 shares of the company's stock worth $6,634,000 after acquiring an additional 167,954 shares in the last quarter. 38.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About NerdWallet

NerdWallet NASDAQ: NRDS is a personal finance company that offers independent guidance and comparison tools to help consumers make informed financial decisions. Through its website and mobile application, NerdWallet provides a wide range of content, including articles, calculators and reviews covering credit cards, mortgages, personal loans, banking products, investing, insurance and taxes. The platform aggregates partner offers to enable side-by-side comparisons, while editorially maintaining objectivity to support users in identifying the products that best suit their individual needs.

Founded in 2009 by Tim Chen and Jacob Gibson, NerdWallet is headquartered in San Francisco and serves consumers primarily in the United States, with additional localized offerings in Canada and the United Kingdom.

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