Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) Trading 6% Higher - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Up 6%: Zillow shares rose to $43.74 on Friday (trading as high as $43.46) despite an 86% drop in volume versus average, and the stock remains well below its 50‑day ($55.83) and 200‑day ($68.90) moving averages.
• Analyst consensus "Hold": Analysts are mixed but the MarketBeat consensus rating is Hold with a $90.60 average price target (ratings range from Strong Buy to Sell).
• Insider selling and results: Company insiders sold about 60,801 shares (~$2.68M) last quarter, while Zillow posted a slight EPS miss ($0.39 vs. $0.42 estimate) with revenue roughly in line with expectations.

Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 6% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $43.46 and last traded at $43.7390. Approximately 624,162 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 4,511,713 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.25.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on Z shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Zillow Group in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Zillow Group from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Barclays raised shares of Zillow Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Zillow Group in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Mizuho cut Zillow Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $90.60.

Zillow Group Trading Up 3.5%

The firm's fifty day moving average is $55.83 and its 200 day moving average is $68.90. The company has a market cap of $10.24 billion, a PE ratio of 473.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 2.10.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $654.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $650.40 million. Zillow Group had a net margin of 0.89% and a return on equity of 0.56%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Zillow Group, Inc. will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Jeremy Hofmann sold 7,786 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total value of $340,481.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 57,487 shares in the company, valued at $2,513,906.51. This trade represents a 11.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jeremy Wacksman sold 13,661 shares of Zillow Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.25, for a total value of $604,499.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 116,322 shares in the company, valued at $5,147,248.50. This represents a 10.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 60,801 shares of company stock worth $2,683,986 in the last quarter. 25.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in Z. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Zillow Group during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zillow Group in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Zillow Group in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its position in Zillow Group by 58.6% during the third quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 441 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Zillow Group by 58.2% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Zillow Group

Zillow Group, Inc is an online real estate marketplace company that operates a portfolio of consumer-facing websites and mobile apps designed to connect buyers, sellers, renters, homeowners and real estate professionals. The company's platforms aggregate property listings, rental listings, and related information to help users search for homes, estimate property values and connect with agents and service providers. Zillow generates revenue primarily through advertising and lead-generation services for real estate professionals, property managers and mortgage lenders.

Key products and services include the Zillow and Trulia consumer websites and apps, which provide searchable listings, photos, neighborhood data and the company's automated home valuation tool known as the “Zestimate.” Zillow also offers a rentals marketplace, a mortgage marketplace and tools for home buying and selling such as Zillow Premier Agent for agent advertising and leads, as well as ancillary services designed to support transactions, including closing and title-related offerings.

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