Zoom Communications (NASDAQ:ZM) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Zoom Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating, reflecting changing analyst sentiments toward the stock.
• Several major brokerages have adjusted their price targets on Zoom, with Morgan Stanley raising it to $85 and Citigroup lowering it to $84, while the consensus target price stands at $87.43.
• Insider trading activity was notable, with Director Jonathan Chadwick and CEO Eric S. Yuan selling significant shares, indicating potential concerns from company leadership regarding stock performance.

Zoom Communications (NASDAQ:ZM - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on ZM. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Zoom Communications from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Zoom Communications from $85.00 to $84.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Zoom Communications in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Zoom Communications from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Zoom Communications in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $87.43.

Zoom Communications Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ ZM opened at $73.17 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $22.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.97, a PEG ratio of 18.89 and a beta of 0.68. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $74.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.73. Zoom Communications has a 12-month low of $60.71 and a 12-month high of $92.80.

Zoom Communications (NASDAQ:ZM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.13. Zoom Communications had a return on equity of 11.08% and a net margin of 22.31%.The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. Zoom Communications's revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Zoom Communications will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jonathan Chadwick sold 25,000 shares of Zoom Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.86, for a total value of $1,871,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,875 shares in the company, valued at $439,802.50. The trade was a 80.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Eric S. Yuan sold 33,691 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.79, for a total transaction of $2,519,749.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 87,542 shares of company stock worth $6,609,623 in the last three months. Company insiders own 11.51% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zoom Communications

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ZM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Zoom Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $539,998,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Zoom Communications by 41.1% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,769,480 shares of the company's stock valued at $293,909,000 after acquiring an additional 1,097,333 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in Zoom Communications by 63.5% during the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 2,137,093 shares of the company's stock worth $166,651,000 after buying an additional 830,393 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Zoom Communications by 119.5% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,405,311 shares of the company's stock worth $103,670,000 after acquiring an additional 765,092 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Zoom Communications by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,796,654 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,829,249,000 after buying an additional 624,863 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.54% of the company's stock.

About Zoom Communications

Zoom Video Communications, Inc provides unified communications platform in the Americas, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The company offers Zoom Meetings that offers HD video, voice, chat, and content sharing through mobile devices, desktops, laptops, telephones, and conference room systems; Zoom Phone, an enterprise cloud phone system; and Zoom Chat enables users to share messages, images, audio files, and content in desktop, laptop, tablet, and mobile devices.

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