Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) Shares Up 5.8% – Here’s What Happened

Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z)’s stock price was up 5.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $28.73 and last traded at $28.8630. 2,441,613 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 4,128,993 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Z has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research cut Zillow Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Zillow Group from $95.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Zillow Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Zillow Group from $76.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Zillow Group from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.29.

Zillow Group Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.63. The company has a market capitalization of $6.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 130.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 2.04.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.07. Zillow Group had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 2.32%. The company had revenue of $772.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $758.10 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Zillow Group, Inc. will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Zillow Group

In other news, CEO Jeremy Wacksman sold 9,339 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total value of $319,207.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 138,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,736,459.32. This represents a 6.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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, insider Dan Spaulding sold 3,169 shares of Zillow Group stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.37, for a total value of $112,087.53. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 44,561 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,576,122.57. The trade was a 6.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 38,539 shares of company stock worth $1,323,800 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 25.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zillow Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Leonteq Securities AG grew its stake in Zillow Group by 627.0% during the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 1,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 1,160 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Zillow Group by 283.2% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Zillow Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $78,000. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA raised its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 34.5% in the fourth quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA now owns 1,170 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional bought a new stake in shares of Zillow Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $110,000. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Zillow Group

Zillow Group, Inc is a technology company that operates digital real estate marketplaces and related services in the United States. Its platforms help consumers search for homes to buy or rent, research neighborhoods and property values, connect with real estate professionals, and manage aspects of the transaction process.

The company’s portfolio includes Zillow, Trulia, StreetEasy and HotPads, along with services such as Zillow Premier Agent, Zillow Rentals, ShowingTime+ and Zillow Home Loans.