Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD) Given New $65.00 Price Target at Royal Bank Of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada raised Ziff Davis’s price target to $65 from $48 and maintained an “outperform” rating, implying 20.59% upside from the previous close.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Ziff Davis has an average “Hold” rating and a consensus target price of $53, although Susquehanna raised its target to $75 and Evercore set a $64 target.
• Ziff Davis exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting EPS of $1.03 versus the $0.81 consensus estimate, while revenue declined 18.7% year over year to $286.74 million.

Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by equities researchers at Royal Bank Of Canada from $48.00 to $65.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the technology company's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's target price points to a potential upside of 20.59% from the company's previous close.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ziff Davis from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ziff Davis from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Piper Sandler set a $48.00 price objective on Ziff Davis in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Ziff Davis from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $64.00 target price on shares of Ziff Davis in a research report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ziff Davis presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $53.00.

Ziff Davis Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ZD traded up $0.03 during trading on Monday, hitting $53.90. The company had a trading volume of 385,368 shares, compared to its average volume of 799,152. Ziff Davis has a 12 month low of $22.45 and a 12 month high of $58.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.71.

Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.22. Ziff Davis had a net margin of 48.57% and a return on equity of 10.73%. The company had revenue of $286.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $286.10 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ziff Davis news, CFO Bret Richter sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.88, for a total transaction of $843,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 29,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,370,958.72. This represents a 38.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kirk P. Mcdonald sold 1,075 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.65, for a total value of $50,148.75. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $628,282.20. The trade was a 7.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 31,422 shares of company stock worth $1,468,864 in the last 90 days. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ziff Davis

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZD. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Ziff Davis during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,160,000. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Ziff Davis during the second quarter valued at $43,022,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Ziff Davis during the second quarter valued at $16,361,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Ziff Davis during the second quarter valued at $186,000. Finally, One Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ziff Davis during the second quarter valued at $556,000. Institutional investors own 99.76% of the company's stock.

Ziff Davis Company Profile

Ziff Davis, Inc is a digital media and internet company that operates a diverse portfolio of online brands, subscription-based services and performance marketing platforms. The company specializes in technology publishing and digital marketing solutions, offering content, reviews and insights tailored to consumer and enterprise audiences. Ziff Davis's flagship media properties include PCMag, which provides expert reviews and comparisons of consumer electronics and software, as well as IGN, a leading destination for gaming news, reviews and entertainment coverage.

Founded in 1927 by William B.

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