Traders Buy High Volume of Zillow Group Call Options (NASDAQ:Z)

Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors bought 23,402 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 29% compared to the average daily volume of 18,102 call options.

Zillow Group Stock Performance

Z stock opened at $43.12 on Wednesday. Zillow Group has a 1-year low of $33.80 and a 1-year high of $61.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 3.32 and a quick ratio of 3.32. The company has a market capitalization of $10.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -62.49 and a beta of 1.79. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $48.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.98.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.42). Zillow Group had a negative return on equity of 2.28% and a negative net margin of 7.93%. The firm had revenue of $529.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $509.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.06) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Zillow Group will post -0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Errol G. Samuelson sold 4,219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.60, for a total value of $209,262.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 168,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,375,604.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Errol G. Samuelson sold 4,219 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.60, for a total value of $209,262.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 168,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,375,604.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeremy Hofmann sold 7,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.76, for a total transaction of $427,839.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 137,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,521,121.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 171,289 shares of company stock valued at $9,642,508 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 23.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zillow Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in Z. Greencape Capital Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of Zillow Group by 93.0% in the first quarter. Greencape Capital Pty Ltd now owns 1,632,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,647,000 after purchasing an additional 786,600 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Zillow Group by 14.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. lifted its stake in Zillow Group by 70.4% during the first quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 255,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,447,000 after purchasing an additional 105,396 shares in the last quarter. Avory & Company LLC increased its stake in Zillow Group by 29.1% during the 1st quarter. Avory & Company LLC now owns 265,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,933,000 after buying an additional 59,773 shares during the period. Finally, Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. grew its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 115.1% in the first quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 314,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,329,000 after acquiring an additional 168,188 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on Z shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Zillow Group from $65.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Zillow Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Wedbush dropped their price target on shares of Zillow Group from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Zillow Group in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Zillow Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.20.

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.