Short Interest in Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZG) Rises By 38.4%

Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZG) saw a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 2,172,484 shares, a growth of 38.4% from the January 29th total of 1,569,814 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,916,438 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days. Based on an average trading volume of 1,916,438 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on ZG. Citigroup dropped their target price on Zillow Group from $100.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $72.00 price target on Zillow Group in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. DA Davidson set a $75.00 price objective on Zillow Group in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Mizuho set a $65.00 target price on shares of Zillow Group in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Zillow Group in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zillow Group news, CEO Jeremy Wacksman sold 13,661 shares of Zillow Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.25, for a total value of $604,499.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 116,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,147,248.50. The trade was a 10.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Bradley D. Owens sold 2,602 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.42, for a total transaction of $115,580.84. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 33,355 shares in the company, valued at $1,481,629.10. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 62,007 shares of company stock valued at $2,771,433 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 17.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Zillow Group in the second quarter valued at about $159,770,000. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in Zillow Group by 38,344.0% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,604,270 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $120,092,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600,097 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its stake in Zillow Group by 44.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,018,448 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $69,489,000 after purchasing an additional 313,643 shares in the last quarter. Tiger Global Management LLC boosted its holdings in Zillow Group by 30.7% in the 4th quarter. Tiger Global Management LLC now owns 1,023,733 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $69,849,000 after purchasing an additional 240,690 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Zillow Group by 271.9% during the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 293,718 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $21,864,000 after purchasing an additional 214,743 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.32% of the company’s stock.

Zillow Group Stock Down 3.7%

Zillow Group stock opened at $44.80 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $59.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.34. The stock has a market cap of $10.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 497.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 2.06. Zillow Group has a twelve month low of $41.90 and a twelve month high of $90.22.

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 firm had revenue of $654.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $650.40 million. Zillow Group had a net margin of 0.89% and a return on equity of 0.56%. Zillow Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Zillow Group will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.