QuinStreet (NASDAQ:QNST) Stock Price Down 5.4% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• QuinStreet shares fell 5.4% on Tuesday, trading as low as $16.45 amid lighter-than-normal volume, after closing at $17.12 the previous day.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, but the stock still carries a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average target price of $20.50; recent moves included downgrades from Zacks Research and Wall Street Zen.
• QuinStreet’s latest earnings beat expectations, with $0.31 EPS versus $0.17 expected and revenue up 28.3% year over year to $346.14 million, while insiders and institutions remain heavily involved in the stock.

QuinStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ:QNST - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 5.4% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $16.45 and last traded at $16.1950. 105,225 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 797,635 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.12.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on QNST shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of QuinStreet from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of QuinStreet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. B. Riley Financial upgraded shares of QuinStreet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of QuinStreet from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $20.50.

QuinStreet Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $927.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $13.63 and a 200 day moving average of $13.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

QuinStreet (NASDAQ:QNST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.14. QuinStreet had a return on equity of 9.97% and a net margin of 5.53%.The company had revenue of $346.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $336.22 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.21 earnings per share. QuinStreet's quarterly revenue was up 28.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that QuinStreet, Inc. will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other QuinStreet news, CFO Gregory Wong sold 10,338 shares of QuinStreet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value of $155,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 390,344 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,855,160. The trade was a 2.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 5.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QuinStreet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of QuinStreet by 619.0% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,441,113 shares of the technology company's stock worth $17,308,000 after buying an additional 1,240,667 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of QuinStreet by 1,000.3% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 900,264 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $12,937,000 after buying an additional 1,000,264 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in QuinStreet in the 1st quarter valued at $6,005,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in QuinStreet by 43.7% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,633,251 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $23,470,000 after acquiring an additional 496,492 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in QuinStreet by 213.3% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 714,482 shares of the technology company's stock worth $12,746,000 after acquiring an additional 486,406 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.83% of the company's stock.

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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