Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) Stock Price Down 5.8% on Analyst Downgrade

Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZG)’s stock price was down 5.8% 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 mid-day 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 research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Mizuho set a $65.00 price target on shares of Zillow Group in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Zillow Group from $73.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Susquehanna set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Zillow Group in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of Zillow Group from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Zillow Group from $67.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zillow Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zillow Group news, CFO Jeremy Hofmann sold 7,786 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total value of $340,481.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 57,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,513,906.51. The trade was a 11.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CTO David A. Beitel sold 3,966 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.22, for a total value of $175,376.52. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 136,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,044,431.80. This trade represents a 2.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 60,801 shares of company stock worth $2,683,986. 17.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zillow Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arax Advisory Partners raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 78.9% in the third 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 last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Zillow Group in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Zillow Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Zillow Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. Institutional investors own 20.32% of the company’s stock.

Zillow Group Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.62. The firm has a market cap of $10.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 467.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 2.05.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The technology company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.03). Zillow Group had a return on equity of 0.56% and a net margin of 0.89%.The business had revenue of $654.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $650.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.27 earnings per share. Zillow Group’s quarterly revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Zillow Group, Inc. will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

About Zillow Group

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.