Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZG) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZG - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 876,700 shares, an increase of 23.9% from the January 31st total of 707,600 shares. Currently, 1.7% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 508,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on ZG. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Zillow Group from $93.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of Zillow Group from $82.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Zillow Group from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of Zillow Group from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Craig Hallum boosted their price objective on shares of Zillow Group from $70.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $83.00.

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Zillow Group Price Performance

ZG stock traded up $1.67 on Friday, reaching $73.85. 781,180 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 597,621. Zillow Group has a 12 month low of $38.06 and a 12 month high of $86.58. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $75.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.91 billion, a PE ratio of -157.13, a PEG ratio of 8.90 and a beta of 2.33.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zillow Group news, CFO Jeremy Hofmann sold 23,388 shares of Zillow Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.98, for a total value of $1,987,512.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 99,362 shares in the company, valued at $8,443,782.76. The trade was a 19.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jun Choo sold 1,277 shares of Zillow Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.72, for a total transaction of $99,248.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 86,853 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,750,215.16. This trade represents a 1.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 96,065 shares of company stock worth $7,660,165. 17.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zillow Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ZG. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Zillow Group by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,537 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc bought a new stake in Zillow Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $231,000. River Global Investors LLP boosted its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. River Global Investors LLP now owns 40,219 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,571 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 207.2% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 15,248 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $944,000 after purchasing an additional 10,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 91,516 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $5,668,000 after purchasing an additional 811 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.32% of the company's stock.

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.