NerdWallet (NASDAQ:NRDS) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

NerdWallet, Inc. (NASDAQ:NRDS)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Friday after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating. The stock had previously closed at $10.36, but opened at $9.74. Morgan Stanley now has a $9.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $14.00. NerdWallet shares last traded at $10.1080, with a volume of 300,498 shares trading hands.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Zacks Research downgraded NerdWallet from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of NerdWallet from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of NerdWallet from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Nicholas Tatum sold 10,151 shares of NerdWallet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.45, for a total transaction of $116,228.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $540,462.90. The trade was a 17.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 46.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of NerdWallet by 1,231.3% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 538,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,296,000 after buying an additional 497,978 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new position in NerdWallet during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,812,000. Nuveen LLC boosted its holdings in NerdWallet by 296.1% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 330,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,480,000 after acquiring an additional 247,157 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in NerdWallet by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,133,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,200,000 after acquiring an additional 234,691 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its position in NerdWallet by 52.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 489,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,634,000 after acquiring an additional 167,954 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.81% of the company’s stock.

NerdWallet Stock Down 4.2%

The firm has a market cap of $663.22 million, a PE ratio of 15.52 and a beta of 1.44. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.14.

NerdWallet (NASDAQ:NRDS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $225.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.37 million. NerdWallet had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 5.82%.The business’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that NerdWallet, Inc. will post 0.36 earnings per share for the current year.

NerdWallet announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 16th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About NerdWallet

NerdWallet (NASDAQ: NRDS) is a personal finance company that offers independent guidance and comparison tools to help consumers make informed financial decisions. Through its website and mobile application, NerdWallet provides a wide range of content, including articles, calculators and reviews covering credit cards, mortgages, personal loans, banking products, investing, insurance and taxes. The platform aggregates partner offers to enable side-by-side comparisons, while editorially maintaining objectivity to support users in identifying the products that best suit their individual needs.

Founded in 2009 by Tim Chen and Jacob Gibson, NerdWallet is headquartered in San Francisco and serves consumers primarily in the United States, with additional localized offerings in Canada and the United Kingdom.