Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) Shares Down 5.8% After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZG) were down 5.8% during trading on Wednesday after Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on the stock from $56.00 to $46.00. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Zillow Group traded as low as $43.40 and last traded at $42.49. Approximately 186,812 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 1,167,276 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.09.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Mizuho set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Zillow Group in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Zillow Group from $73.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. UBS Group set a $80.00 target price on Zillow Group in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Zillow Group from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Zillow Group from $100.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.05.

Insider Activity

In other Zillow Group news, CTO David A. Beitel sold 3,966 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.22, for a total transaction of $175,376.52. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 136,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,044,431.80. The trade was a 2.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeremy Wacksman sold 13,661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.25, for a total value of $604,499.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 116,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,147,248.50. The trade was a 10.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 60,801 shares of company stock valued at $2,683,986. 17.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Zillow Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Arax Advisory Partners lifted its position in Zillow Group by 402.3% during the fourth quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 442 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Zillow Group by 78.9% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 424 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Zillow Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zillow Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Zillow Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.32% of the company’s stock.

Zillow Group Trading Down 4.9%

The firm has a market cap of $10.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 476.39, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 2.05. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $51.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.93.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The technology company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $654.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $650.40 million. Zillow Group had a return on equity of 0.56% and a net margin of 0.89%.The firm’s revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Zillow Group, Inc. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zillow Group Company Profile

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.