Zebra Technologies (NASDAQ:ZBRA) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Zebra Technologies from “hold” to “buy,” adding to a generally positive analyst backdrop for the stock.
• The company recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $4.75 versus $4.21 expected and revenue of $1.50 billion, with revenue up 14.3% year over year.
• Despite mixed analyst views and some insider selling, Zebra Technologies continues to attract institutional interest, with 91.03% of shares held by hedge funds and other institutions.

Zebra Technologies (NASDAQ:ZBRA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Northcoast Research reduced their target price on Zebra Technologies from $364.00 to $344.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research lowered Zebra Technologies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of Zebra Technologies in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley set a $323.00 target price on Zebra Technologies in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on Zebra Technologies from $365.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $319.00.

Zebra Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ZBRA opened at $259.35 on Friday. Zebra Technologies has a 12 month low of $199.05 and a 12 month high of $352.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $219.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $240.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.36 and a beta of 1.62.

Zebra Technologies (NASDAQ:ZBRA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The industrial products company reported $4.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.21 by $0.54. Zebra Technologies had a return on equity of 18.91% and a net margin of 7.49%.The firm had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.02 EPS. Zebra Technologies's revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Zebra Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 18.300-18.700 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 4.200-4.500 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Zebra Technologies will post 15.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zebra Technologies news, insider Cristen L. Kogl sold 145 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.71, for a total transaction of $34,177.95. Following the transaction, the insider owned 23,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,583,262.77. This represents a 0.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Janice M. Roberts sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.54, for a total value of $748,620.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,542,905.82. This represents a 32.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,154 shares of company stock worth $784,866. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zebra Technologies by 39.9% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,318 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Zebra Technologies during the 1st quarter worth $317,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zebra Technologies by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $407,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Zebra Technologies by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,787 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $551,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zebra Technologies by 19.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 2,504 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $772,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.03% of the company's stock.

About Zebra Technologies

Zebra Technologies Corporation is a global technology company specializing in marking, tracking and computer printing solutions. The company produces a wide range of hardware and software products designed to enable real-time visibility of assets, inventory and personnel across diverse industries. Its offerings help businesses automate data capture and streamline operations in environments such as retail, healthcare, manufacturing, transportation and logistics.

The company's product portfolio includes barcode and RFID printers, mobile computing devices, barcode scanners, RFID readers and related supplies such as labels and tags.

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