Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZG) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZG) was the target of a large decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 766,600 shares, a decline of 32.8% from the December 15th total of 1,140,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 475,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Zillow Group from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Craig Hallum boosted their price target on shares of Zillow Group from $70.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Zillow Group from $66.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Zillow Group from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Zillow Group from $36.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.00.

Insider Transactions at Zillow Group

In other news, CTO David A. Beitel sold 56,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.39, for a total transaction of $4,108,132.50. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 92 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,659.88. This represents a 99.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Susan Daimler sold 3,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.98, for a total transaction of $273,282.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,388,604.60. This trade represents a 16.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 139,689 shares of company stock valued at $10,395,879 in the last three months. 17.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zillow Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ZG. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 24,738 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,753,000 after purchasing an additional 5,539 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in Zillow Group during the fourth quarter worth $72,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Zillow Group by 155.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 33,258 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,060,000 after acquiring an additional 20,238 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Zillow Group by 132.1% in the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 208,773 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,929,000 after acquiring an additional 118,830 shares during the period. Finally, Synergy Financial Group LTD bought a new stake in shares of Zillow Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $271,000. 20.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zillow Group Stock Up 1.2 %

Zillow Group stock opened at $68.92 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $74.11 and a 200-day moving average of $61.05. The company has a quick ratio of 3.13, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Zillow Group has a twelve month low of $38.06 and a twelve month high of $83.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.10 billion, a PE ratio of -120.91 and a beta of 2.09.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The technology company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $581.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $555.45 million. Zillow Group had a negative return on equity of 2.33% and a negative net margin of 6.17%. The company’s revenue was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.12) EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Zillow Group will post -0.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Zillow Group

Zillow Group, Inc operates real estate brands in mobile applications and Websites in the United States. The company offers premier agent and rentals marketplaces, new construction marketplaces, advertising, display advertising, and business technology solutions, as well as dotloop and floor plans. It also provides mortgage originations and the sale of mortgages, and advertising to mortgage lenders and other mortgage professionals; and title and escrow services.