Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) CTO David Beitel Sells 1,879 Shares

Key Points

• Zillow CTO David Beitel sold 1,879 shares on May 14 at an average price of $37.93, worth about $71,270. The company said the sale was to cover tax withholding tied to vested equity awards.
• Zillow beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.53 EPS versus the $0.43 estimate and revenue of $708 million, up 18.4% year over year.
• Several headwinds remain for the stock, including multiple insider sales, recent analyst price-target cuts, and a Rosen Law Firm investigation into potential securities claims.

Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZG - Get Free Report) CTO David Beitel sold 1,879 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.93, for a total transaction of $71,270.47. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 134,811 shares in the company, valued at $5,113,381.23. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Zillow Group Stock Performance

ZG stock traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $38.06. 1,220,724 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,107,114. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.67. Zillow Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.26 and a 52 week high of $90.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.71 billion, a PE ratio of 152.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 2.04.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.10. Zillow Group had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 1.41%. The business had revenue of $708.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $705.17 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Zillow Group, Inc. will post 0.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Zillow Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aberdeen Group plc purchased a new stake in Zillow Group during the third quarter valued at about $2,529,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Zillow Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,443,000. Tabor Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Zillow Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,428,000. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 38,344.0% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,604,270 shares of the technology company's stock worth $120,092,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600,097 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Emmett Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Zillow Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,860,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.32% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Zillow Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zillow highlighted survey results showing most prospective home sellers want broad public exposure rather than private listing networks. The company said 85% of soon-to-be sellers are more likely to hire an agent who can pre-market to the broadest online audience, reinforcing Zillow’s core pitch that open-market listings benefit sellers. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Zillow also emphasized its data showing sellers lose money in same-agent dual agency deals and off-MLS listings, a message that could support demand for Zillow’s public-listing ecosystem and advertising tools. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan/other analyst commentary pointed to a lower price target for Zillow Group, suggesting Wall Street expectations have softened and may be limiting upside sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple Zillow insiders, including the CEO, COO, CTO, CAO, general counsel, and another executive, sold shares this week. The company said the sales were mainly to cover tax withholding tied to vesting equity awards and some were made under a 10b5-1 plan, but the cluster of insider selling can still create a bearish overhang for investors. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Rosen Law Firm said it is investigating potential securities claims against Zillow, adding legal uncertainty that may be a headwind for the stock. Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Zillow Group from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Zillow Group from $60.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Zillow Group from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on shares of Zillow Group from $56.00 to $46.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $75.00 price target on Zillow Group in a report on Thursday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Zillow Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.24.

About Zillow Group

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.

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