Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Zillow Group shares reached a new 52-week high of $89.77 after being upgraded by Sanford C. Bernstein from a market perform rating to an outperform rating, now with a price target of $105.00.
• Insider trading activity saw CTO David A. Beitel and CFO Jeremy Hofmann sell significant shares, with insider sales totaling over $56 million in the past 90 days.
• Analysts have a generally positive outlook on Zillow Group, with an average target price of $86.41 and 14 ratings as Buy, contrasted by one Sell rating.

Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZG - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded the stock from a market perform rating to an outperform rating. Sanford C. Bernstein now has a $105.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $75.00. Zillow Group traded as high as $89.77 and last traded at $87.59, with a volume of 269978 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $85.10.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Zillow Group from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Zillow Group from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $66.00 price target (up from $60.00) on shares of Zillow Group in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Zillow Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Zillow Group from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zillow Group

In other news, CFO Jeremy Hofmann sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.99, for a total transaction of $2,249,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 84,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,572,298.54. This represents a 22.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO David A. Beitel sold 22,510 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.97, for a total transaction of $2,047,734.70. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 144,549 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,149,622.53. This trade represents a 13.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 657,087 shares of company stock valued at $56,286,479. 17.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ZG. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 79.4% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 488 shares of the technology company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Zillow Group during the first quarter worth $42,000. CX Institutional acquired a new position in shares of Zillow Group during the first quarter worth $46,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zillow Group during the fourth quarter worth $70,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 33.0% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,129 shares of the technology company's stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. 20.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zillow Group Stock Down 3.2%

The company has a market cap of $20.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -321.88, a PEG ratio of 23.30 and a beta of 2.02. The firm's 50 day moving average is $80.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.72.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.04). Zillow Group had a negative return on equity of 1.26% and a negative net margin of 2.60%.The business had revenue of $655.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $647.06 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Zillow Group, Inc. will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Zillow Group

Zillow Group, Inc operates real estate brands in mobile applications and Websites in the United States. The company offers premier agent and rentals marketplaces, new construction marketplaces, advertising, display advertising, and business technology solutions, as well as dotloop and floor plans. It also provides mortgage originations and the sale of mortgages, and advertising to mortgage lenders and other mortgage professionals; and title and escrow services.