Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report released on Thursday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on ZG. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on shares of Zillow Group from $32.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank set a $80.00 price target on shares of Zillow Group in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of Zillow Group from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Zillow Group from $48.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their target price on Zillow Group from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Zillow Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.67.

Zillow Group Stock Up 3.4%

Shares of ZG traded up $1.00 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $30.11. 990,867 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,250,431. Zillow Group has a fifty-two week low of $27.25 and a fifty-two week high of $74.80. The company has a market cap of $6.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -57.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.95. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $31.03 and its 200 day moving average is $37.59.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The technology company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.05). Zillow Group had a negative net margin of 3.95% and a positive return on equity of 3.23%. The company had revenue of $724.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $753.66 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Zillow Group will post 0.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Zillow Group

In other news, CEO Jeremy Wacksman sold 9,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total value of $319,207.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 138,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,736,459.32. This trade represents a 6.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Claire Thielke sold 1,187 shares of Zillow Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.71, for a total transaction of $42,387.77. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,375 shares in the company, valued at $84,811.25. This trade represents a 33.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,979 shares of company stock valued at $583,370. 29.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Zillow Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Technology Crossover Management XI Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Zillow Group during the second quarter valued at about $73,694,895. Edgewood Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zillow Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $56,971,000. Kahn Brothers Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Zillow Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,265,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 724.4% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 406,398 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $11,257,000 after buying an additional 357,104 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Zillow Group by 1,616.8% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 135,352 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,602,000 after buying an additional 127,468 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.32% of the company’s stock.

Zillow Group Company Profile

Zillow Group, Inc. operates a digital real estate marketplace focused primarily on the United States. Its websites and mobile apps help consumers find homes for sale and rent, explore neighborhood information, and research home values. The company’s brands include Zillow, Trulia, StreetEasy and HotPads. Zillow Group also provides services for real estate professionals, including advertising and customer-management tools, and offers mortgage services through Zillow Home Loans. Zillow launched in 2006, founded by Rich Barton and Lloyd Frink, and grew into a parent company with multiple real estate brands and services.