Stifel Nicolaus Cuts Zoom Communications (NASDAQ:ZM) Price Target to $80.00

Key Points

• Stifel Nicolaus has reduced its price target for Zoom Communications from $85.00 to $80.00, maintaining a "hold" rating, which indicates a potential upside of 9.33% from the current trading price.
• Several analysts have recently made updates to their ratings on Zoom, with Wells Fargo increasing its target to $80.00 and Bank of America raising theirs to $84.00.
• Insider transactions indicate significant sales, with COO Aparna Bawa reducing her ownership by 84.18% after selling 10,528 shares at an average price of $74.78.

Zoom Communications (NASDAQ:ZM - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus from $85.00 to $80.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "hold" rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus' price target suggests a potential upside of 9.33% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on ZM. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Zoom Communications from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $87.00 price objective on shares of Zoom Communications in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Zoom Communications from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Zoom Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Zoom Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $87.91.

Zoom Communications Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Zoom Communications stock opened at $73.17 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $74.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.73. The company has a market cap of $22.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.97, a PEG ratio of 18.89 and a beta of 0.68. Zoom Communications has a 1 year low of $60.71 and a 1 year high of $92.80.

Zoom Communications (NASDAQ:ZM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. Zoom Communications had a return on equity of 11.08% and a net margin of 22.31%.Zoom Communications's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.35 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Zoom Communications will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Aparna Bawa sold 10,528 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total value of $787,283.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 1,978 shares in the company, valued at $147,914.84. This trade represents a 84.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Janet Napolitano sold 2,617 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.78, for a total value of $200,933.26. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at $363,015.84. This represents a 35.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 87,542 shares of company stock valued at $6,609,623 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 11.51% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zoom Communications

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZM. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Zoom Communications by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,379,000 after purchasing an additional 3,064 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Zoom Communications by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,856 shares of the company's stock valued at $560,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Zoom Communications by 216.2% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 58,510 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,775,000 after acquiring an additional 40,003 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Zoom Communications by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,662,680 shares of the company's stock valued at $135,707,000 after acquiring an additional 115,802 shares during the period. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in Zoom Communications by 89.6% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 17,812 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 8,417 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.54% of the company's stock.

About Zoom Communications

Zoom Video Communications, Inc provides unified communications platform in the Americas, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The company offers Zoom Meetings that offers HD video, voice, chat, and content sharing through mobile devices, desktops, laptops, telephones, and conference room systems; Zoom Phone, an enterprise cloud phone system; and Zoom Chat enables users to share messages, images, audio files, and content in desktop, laptop, tablet, and mobile devices.

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