Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD) Trading Up 6.8%

Ziff Davis, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZD) shot up 6.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $53.11 and last traded at $52.90. 80,776 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 296,019 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ZD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ziff Davis from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday. UBS Group cut their target price on Ziff Davis from $77.00 to $76.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Ziff Davis from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Ziff Davis from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Ziff Davis in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.57.

Ziff Davis Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.54 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 2.76. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.38.

Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The technology company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $389.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $400.71 million. Ziff Davis had a net margin of 3.04% and a return on equity of 13.97%. On average, analysts expect that Ziff Davis, Inc. will post 6.23 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ziff Davis

In other Ziff Davis news, EVP Jeremy Rossen sold 4,162 shares of Ziff Davis stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.43, for a total transaction of $288,967.66. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $504,131.23. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ziff Davis

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in Ziff Davis by 63.6% in the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 296,572 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $18,696,000 after purchasing an additional 115,258 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Ziff Davis by 126.5% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 104,571 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,592,000 after buying an additional 58,400 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ziff Davis in the first quarter worth about $49,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in Ziff Davis by 2.3% during the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 13,200 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $832,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. purchased a new position in Ziff Davis during the first quarter valued at approximately $804,000. 99.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ziff Davis Company Profile

Ziff Davis, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital media and internet company in the United States and internationally. The company offers PCMag, an online resource for laboratory-based product reviews, technology news, buying guides, and research papers; Mashable for publishing technology and culture content; Spiceworks Ziff Davis provides digital content of IT products and services; retailMeNot, a savings destination platform; Offers.com, a coupon and deals website; and event-based properties, including BlackFriday.com, TheBlackFriday.com, BestBlackFriday.com, and DealsofAmerica.com.