Short Interest in Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z) Expands By 22.6%

Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,400,000 shares, an increase of 22.6% from the March 31st total of 11,750,000 shares. Currently, 9.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 4,030,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Zillow Group Price Performance

Z stock opened at $43.67 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -64.22 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 3.24 and a current ratio of 3.24. Zillow Group has a 52-week low of $33.80 and a 52-week high of $61.13. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.91.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported ($0.27) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.33) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $474.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $450.75 million. Zillow Group had a negative return on equity of 2.32% and a negative net margin of 8.12%. Research analysts expect that Zillow Group will post -0.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Errol G. Samuelson sold 4,219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.60, for a total transaction of $209,262.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 168,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,375,604.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Dan Spaulding sold 3,086 shares of Zillow Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.00, for a total value of $178,988.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 48,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,801,052. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Errol G. Samuelson sold 4,219 shares of Zillow Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.60, for a total value of $209,262.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 168,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,375,604.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 171,289 shares of company stock valued at $9,642,508 in the last three months. Insiders own 23.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zillow Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 203.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,450,713 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $159,285,000 after buying an additional 2,312,241 shares during the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 3,085,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $142,416,000 after buying an additional 329,191 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,899,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $109,898,000 after buying an additional 431,070 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,475,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $85,376,000 after buying an additional 80,529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 7,507.1% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,133,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,301,000 after purchasing an additional 1,118,782 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Z has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Zillow Group from $46.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Zillow Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Zillow Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.75.

Zillow Group Company Profile

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.