Short Interest in Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZG) Expands By 42.3%

Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZG) saw a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,580,000 shares, an increase of 42.3% from the February 28th total of 1,110,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 604,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days. Approximately 3.0% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Errol G. Samuelson sold 2,854 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.34, for a total value of $209,312.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 142,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,460,924.24. The trade was a 1.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jun Choo sold 55,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.18, for a total value of $4,299,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 86,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,790,167.54. The trade was a 38.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 98,919 shares of company stock valued at $7,869,478 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 17.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zillow Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 155.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 33,258 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,060,000 after buying an additional 20,238 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 24,738 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,753,000 after acquiring an additional 5,539 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC grew its position in Zillow Group by 132.1% in the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 208,773 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,929,000 after acquiring an additional 118,830 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Zillow Group by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,025,060 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $63,523,000 after acquiring an additional 32,766 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Zillow Group by 136.3% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,982 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,628,000 after purchasing an additional 13,255 shares during the period. 20.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ZG shares. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Zillow Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Zillow Group in a report on Friday, January 31st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Zillow Group in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Zillow Group from $64.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Zillow Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zillow Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.25.

Zillow Group Price Performance

Zillow Group stock opened at $66.86 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $74.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.77. Zillow Group has a 1 year low of $38.06 and a 1 year high of $86.58. The stock has a market cap of $16.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -142.26, a PEG ratio of 8.90 and a beta of 2.33.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The technology company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.48). Zillow Group had a negative return on equity of 2.12% and a negative net margin of 5.01%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Zillow Group will post 0.32 EPS for the current 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.