Susquehanna Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) Stock Price

Key Points

• Susquehanna cut Zillow Group’s price target from $50 to $38 and maintained a Neutral rating, implying only about 3% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans toward Hold: 11 analysts rate the stock Buy, 14 Hold and one Sell, with an average target of $60.14.
• Zillow exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, but weaker forward guidance, restructuring costs and workforce reductions raised concerns about slowing growth and profitability.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by research analysts at Susquehanna from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the technology company's stock. Susquehanna's price objective suggests a potential upside of 3.01% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on ZG. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Zillow Group in a report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on shares of Zillow Group from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Zillow Group from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Zillow Group from $65.00 to $53.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Evercore set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Zillow Group and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $60.14.

Zillow Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ZG opened at $36.89 on Thursday. Zillow Group has a one year low of $29.03 and a one year high of $90.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $33.23 and a 200 day moving average of $41.83. The firm has a market cap of $8.44 billion, a PE ratio of 147.56, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.95.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $772.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $758.25 million. Zillow Group had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 1.41%. Zillow Group's quarterly revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Zillow Group will post 0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Zillow Group

In other Zillow Group news, insider Dan Spaulding sold 3,078 shares of Zillow Group stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.40, for a total value of $115,117.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 49,696 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,630.40. The trade was a 5.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Jeremy Wacksman sold 9,072 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.54, for a total value of $331,490.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 153,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,616,161.46. This trade represents a 5.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 42,910 shares of company stock valued at $1,605,732 in the last ninety days. 29.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Zillow Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ZG. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Zillow Group by 40.5% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,890 shares of the technology company's stock worth $862,000 after buying an additional 3,717 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 110.8% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 290,999 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $19,456,000 after acquiring an additional 152,955 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 87,912 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,878,000 after acquiring an additional 5,737 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 21,093 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,445,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 16.3% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 7,933 shares of the technology company's stock worth $543,000 after acquiring an additional 1,110 shares during the last quarter. 20.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Zillow Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting Zillow Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zillow reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.52 per share, above the $0.44 analyst consensus, while revenue rose 17.9% year over year to $772 million, exceeding estimates of approximately $758 million. Zillow Group Beats Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: KeyBanc maintained its Buy rating, signaling continued analyst support following the quarterly results. KeyBanc Maintains Buy Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Zillow expanded Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Hofmann’s responsibilities to include chief operating officer and appointed Cassandra Knight as its first chief legal and policy officer. The changes are intended to support the company’s housing “super app” strategy but add to leadership-transition uncertainty. Zillow Strengthens Executive Leadership Team
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue guidance of $745 million to $760 million fell below the $772.3 million consensus estimate. Full-year revenue guidance of $2.9 billion to $3.0 billion also only reached, rather than exceeded, the roughly $3.0 billion analyst forecast, raising concerns about slowing growth. Zillow Stock Sinks on Layoffs and Soft Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Zillow recorded a $4 million net loss after $36 million in restructuring costs, contrasting with analysts’ expectation for approximately $21 million of net income. The company also eliminated more than 500 positions, or about 7% of its workforce, suggesting management is cutting costs amid operating challenges. Zillow Swings to Loss on Restructuring Costs
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms reiterated notices about a securities-fraud class action and an August 10 lead-plaintiff deadline involving alleged anticompetitive agreements and regulatory risks. The legal announcements add reputational and potential financial-risk overhang, although they do not represent a final finding of wrongdoing. Zillow Securities Fraud Class Action Notice

Zillow Group Company Profile

Zillow Group NASDAQ: ZG is a U.S.-based online real estate marketplace that connects consumers, real estate professionals and mortgage lenders through a suite of digital products and advertising services. Founded in 2006 by Rich Barton and Lloyd Frink and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the company operates a portfolio of consumer-facing brands and tools designed to simplify home search, rental discovery, valuation and mortgage shopping.

Zillow's core products include its consumer websites and mobile apps that list homes for sale and rent, the Zestimate automated home value estimate, and marketplaces that connect buyers and renters with agents and lenders.

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.

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