Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z)

Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors purchased 31,800 call options on the company. This is an increase of 87% compared to the typical volume of 17,031 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on Z shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Zillow Group from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Zillow Group in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Craig Hallum upgraded Zillow Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group upgraded Zillow Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Wedbush raised Zillow Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $50.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zillow Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.20.

Zillow Group Trading Up 3.5 %

NASDAQ:Z opened at $62.75 on Friday. Zillow Group has a 12-month low of $33.80 and a 12-month high of $68.73. The firm has a market cap of $14.52 billion, a PE ratio of -102.87 and a beta of 1.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $57.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.70.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by $0.13. Zillow Group had a negative return on equity of 2.50% and a negative net margin of 6.81%. The business had revenue of $572.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $539.74 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Zillow Group will post -0.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zillow Group news, Chairman Lloyd D. Frink sold 150,000 shares of Zillow Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.83, for a total transaction of $7,624,500.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,583.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Zillow Group news, Chairman Lloyd D. Frink sold 150,000 shares of Zillow Group stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.83, for a total value of $7,624,500.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 582 shares in the company, valued at $29,583.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thielke Claire Cormier sold 2,826 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.11, for a total value of $172,696.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $172,696.86. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 221,999 shares of company stock valued at $11,780,363 in the last three months. 23.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zillow Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of Z. Concord Wealth Partners purchased a new stake in Zillow Group during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Zillow Group by 364.4% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its position in shares of Zillow Group by 400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zillow Group in the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Zillow Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $61,000. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.