Short Interest in Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZG) Decreases By 32.8%

Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZG) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of 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 daily trading volume, of 475,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Zillow Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ZG opened at $72.36 on Thursday. Zillow Group has a 52-week low of $38.06 and a 52-week high of $83.67. The business has a fifty day moving average of $74.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 3.13 and a current ratio of 3.13.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The technology company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.03. Zillow Group had a negative net margin of 6.17% and a negative return on equity of 2.33%. The firm had revenue of $581.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $555.45 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.12) earnings per share. Zillow Group’s quarterly revenue was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Zillow Group will post -0.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on ZG shares. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Zillow Group from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Zillow Group from $66.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Zillow Group from $82.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Zillow Group from $36.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $47.00 price target on shares of Zillow Group in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Zillow Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jennifer Rock sold 3,187 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total transaction of $235,838.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,154,026. This represents a 4.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Bradley D. Owens sold 1,212 shares of Zillow Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.98, for a total transaction of $89,663.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 31,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,348,051.22. The trade was a 3.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 139,689 shares of company stock valued at $10,395,879 in the last quarter. 17.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Zillow Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in shares of Zillow Group by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,669 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Zillow Group by 7.2% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,537 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the period. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zillow Group during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 86.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 16,407 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,016,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.32% of the company’s stock.

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.