Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) Raised to "Outperform" at Sanford C. Bernstein

Key Points

• Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) from "market perform" to "outperform" with a price target of $105.00, indicating a potential upside of 18.58% from its current price.
• Other analysts have also increased their price targets, with Bank of America raising theirs to $88.00 and JPMorgan Chase increasing theirs to $94.00.
• Insider trading activity has seen significant sales, with directors selling over 657,000 shares in total over the past three months, indicating a notable decline in their ownership stakes.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $105.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock. Sanford C. Bernstein's target price would indicate a potential upside of 16.69% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Zillow Group from $79.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Zillow Group from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $90.38.

Zillow Group Stock Performance

Shares of Z stock traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $89.98. 2,562,191 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,538,278. Zillow Group has a twelve month low of $57.00 and a twelve month high of $93.88. The firm has a market cap of $21.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -346.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 25.15 and a beta of 2.04. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $83.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.65.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Richard N. Barton sold 200,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.92, for a total transaction of $16,984,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 843,248 shares in the company, valued at $71,608,620.16. The trade was a 19.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Dan Spaulding sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.91, for a total value of $8,591,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 68,889 shares in the company, valued at $5,918,253.99. This represents a 59.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 657,087 shares of company stock valued at $56,286,479. Corporate insiders own 25.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zillow Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of Z. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 18,448 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 4,203 shares during the period. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zillow Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $249,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 411.8% in the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 16,633 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,232,000 after purchasing an additional 13,383 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zillow Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $307,000. Finally, Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new position in shares of Zillow Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,646,000. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Zillow Group

Zillow Group, Inc operates real estate brands in mobile applications and Websites in the United States. The company offers premier agent and rentals marketplaces, new construction marketplaces, advertising, display advertising, and business technology solutions, as well as dotloop and floor plans. It also provides mortgage originations and the sale of mortgages, and advertising to mortgage lenders and other mortgage professionals; and title and escrow services.