Zacks Research Upgrades QuinStreet (NASDAQ:QNST) to Hold

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded QuinStreet from “strong sell” to “hold,” while other analysts also raised their ratings. The stock carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $20.50 target price.
• QuinStreet reported quarterly EPS of $0.31, exceeding the $0.17 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $346.14 million and increased 28.3% year over year.
• Shares opened at $15.50, compared with a 52-week range of $10.28 to $18.02. Institutional investors own 97.83% of the company, though CFO Gregory Wong recently sold shares under a pre-arranged trading plan.

QuinStreet (NASDAQ:QNST - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

QNST has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wall Street Zen raised QuinStreet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of QuinStreet from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, B. Riley Financial upgraded shares of QuinStreet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, QuinStreet presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $20.50.

QuinStreet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:QNST opened at $15.50 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $890.32 million, a P/E ratio of 13.60 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $14.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.10. 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 has a 1-year low of $10.28 and a 1-year high of $18.02.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Gregory Wong sold 10,338 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value of $155,070.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 390,344 shares in the company, valued at $5,855,160. This represents a 2.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 5.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of QuinStreet

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in QuinStreet by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,257,710 shares of the technology company's stock worth $61,183,000 after buying an additional 133,468 shares during the last quarter. Private Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of QuinStreet by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Private Capital Management LLC now owns 4,171,946 shares of the technology company's stock worth $59,951,000 after buying an additional 17,690 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in QuinStreet by 21.3% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,682,060 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $26,021,000 after acquiring an additional 295,680 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in QuinStreet by 42.1% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,595,184 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $22,923,000 after acquiring an additional 472,407 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of QuinStreet by 619.0% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,441,113 shares of the technology company's stock worth $17,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240,667 shares during the period. 97.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

QuinStreet Company Profile

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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