Zebra Technologies (NASDAQ:ZBRA) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Zebra Technologies shares plunged 8.7%, opening at $311.62 versus the prior close of $361.13, before recovering slightly to around $320.41.
• Despite the sell-off, analysts maintain a generally positive view: the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $385.83.
• The company recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting $4.95 in adjusted earnings per share on $1.61 billion in revenue, with revenue up 22.3% year over year.

Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:ZBRA - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday. The stock had previously closed at $361.13, but opened at $311.62. Zebra Technologies shares last traded at $320.4050, with a volume of 375,425 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $455.00 price objective (up from $370.00) on shares of Zebra Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Zebra Technologies in a report on Monday, October 12th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Zebra Technologies from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Zebra Technologies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Zebra Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $385.83.

Zebra Technologies Stock Down 8.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $15.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.02 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $367.39 and a 200 day moving average of $280.91.

Zebra Technologies (NASDAQ:ZBRA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.89 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. Zebra Technologies had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 22.29%. The company's revenue was up 22.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.88 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Zebra Technologies Corporation will post 18.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Zebra Technologies

In other news, Director Linda Connly sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.68, for a total value of $188,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,400,437.44. This represents a 11.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael Cho sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $375.20, for a total value of $1,313,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,170 shares in the company, valued at $1,939,784. The trade was a 40.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.91% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zebra Technologies

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Zebra Technologies by 0.3% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 613,319 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $228,958,000 after purchasing an additional 1,956 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Zebra Technologies by 37.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 686,335 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $143,473,000 after buying an additional 185,387 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Zebra Technologies by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 623,965 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $130,459,000 after buying an additional 20,567 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Zebra Technologies by 111.6% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 500,628 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $104,671,000 after purchasing an additional 264,015 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in Zebra Technologies by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 256,025 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $95,577,000 after acquiring an additional 65,320 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.03% of the company's stock.

About Zebra Technologies

Zebra Technologies Corp. NASDAQ: ZBRA develops technologies that help businesses identify, track and manage assets, inventory and operational processes. Its solutions are used by organizations in retail, manufacturing, transportation and logistics, healthcare, government and other industries to improve visibility and productivity across their operations.

The company's portfolio includes barcode and label printers, barcode scanners, mobile computers, radio-frequency identification (RFID) readers and tags, machine-vision systems, fixed industrial scanners and related software.

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.