Stephens Begins Coverage on Porch Group (NASDAQ:PRCH)

Key Points

• Stephens initiated coverage on Porch Group with an "overweight" rating and a $12.00 price target, implying roughly a 14.67% upside from the stock's current level.
• Porch recently topped quarterly estimates—EPS of ($0.04) vs. ($0.10) expected and revenue of $109.44M vs. $94.72M—and its shares traded around $10.47 with a market cap near $1.30B and a 52-week range of $5.92–$19.44.
• Insiders have been net sellers (1.318M shares worth ~$9.95M in the last 90 days) to cover tax withholding from equity vesting, though insiders still own ~27.78% of the company and institutions hold ~48.48%.

Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Porch Group (NASDAQ:PRCH - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday. The firm set an "overweight" rating and a $12.00 price target on the stock. Stephens' price target indicates a potential upside of 14.67% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on PRCH. Benchmark upped their target price on Porch Group from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded Porch Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Porch Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $13.00 to $10.50 in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $16.69.

Porch Group Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of PRCH stock traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $10.47. 154,515 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,677,874. Porch Group has a 1 year low of $5.92 and a 1 year high of $19.44. The company's 50 day moving average is $7.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.87. The firm has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of -61.43 and a beta of 3.24.

Porch Group (NASDAQ:PRCH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by $0.06. Porch Group had a negative return on equity of 115.59% and a negative net margin of 3.41%.The firm had revenue of $109.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.72 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Porch Group will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Shawn Tabak sold 10,454 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.11, for a total value of $84,781.94. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 364,230 shares in the company, valued at $2,953,905.30. This represents a 2.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Matthew Neagle sold 59,901 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.11, for a total value of $485,797.11. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 2,361,998 shares in the company, valued at $19,155,803.78. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 1,318,151 shares of company stock worth $9,948,497 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 27.78% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Porch Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Porch Group by 95.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 924,180 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,508,000 after buying an additional 450,560 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Porch Group by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,252,134 shares of the company's stock valued at $121,691,000 after buying an additional 384,451 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Porch Group by 68.9% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 388,299 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,545,000 after buying an additional 158,368 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lifted its holdings in shares of Porch Group by 1,897.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 255,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,287,000 after buying an additional 242,722 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Porch Group by 2,254.1% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 759,664 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,747,000 after buying an additional 727,394 shares during the period. 48.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Porch Group

Porch Group, Inc operates a technology-driven home services platform designed to connect homeowners with professional contractors, maintenance providers and home improvement specialists. Through its online marketplace and proprietary software solutions, Porch enables users to research, compare and book services ranging from home repairs and remodeling to maintenance and renovations. The company's platform integrates detailed provider profiles, customer reviews and real-time appointment scheduling to streamline the process of sourcing and managing home projects.

In addition to its core marketplace, Porch offers software products tailored for service professionals.

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.