NerdWallet (NASDAQ:NRDS) Raised to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded NerdWallet (NASDAQ:NRDS) from a "buy" to a strong-buy, but analyst coverage is mixed overall with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $14.33.
• NerdWallet beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.19 EPS vs. $0.17 est. and revenue of $225.4M (up 22.6% year-over-year), while analysts expect about $0.36 EPS for the current year.
• The board authorized a $50 million share buyback (up to ~5% of shares), even as insiders sold 86,043 shares (~$901k) over the past three months—insiders still own 46.54% of the company.

NerdWallet (NASDAQ:NRDS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report issued on Sunday.

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

NerdWallet Stock Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:NRDS opened at $10.47 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.08. NerdWallet has a 52 week low of $7.86 and a 52 week high of $16.24. The company has a market cap of $699.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.36 and a beta of 1.42.

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

NerdWallet declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 16th that permits the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at NerdWallet

In related news, CAO Nicholas Tatum sold 10,151 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 47,202 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $540,462.90. This represents a 17.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $742,916.16. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 173,973 shares in the company, valued at $1,795,401.36. The trade was a 29.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 86,043 shares of company stock worth $901,317 in the last three months. Insiders own 46.54% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NerdWallet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Covestor Ltd purchased a new position in shares of NerdWallet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of NerdWallet by 37.1% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,893 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 1,054 shares during the period. Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new position in shares of NerdWallet during the third quarter valued at approximately $111,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of NerdWallet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $148,000. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of NerdWallet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $150,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.81% of the company's stock.

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.

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.