Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD) Price Target Cut to $70.00

Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD) had its price objective reduced by research analysts at Wedbush from $78.00 to $70.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the technology company’s stock. Wedbush’s price target indicates a potential upside of 30.72% from the company’s previous close.

ZD has been the subject of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Ziff Davis in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 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, May 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Ziff Davis from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. UBS Group cut their price objective on Ziff Davis from $77.00 to $76.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ziff Davis from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ziff Davis presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.43.

Ziff Davis Stock Performance

ZD traded down $1.60 during trading on Friday, reaching $53.55. 135,565 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 308,463. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market cap of $2.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.93 and a beta of 1.24. Ziff Davis has a 52 week low of $49.50 and a 52 week high of $75.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $58.61 and a 200 day moving average of $63.02.

Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The technology company reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.02. Ziff Davis had a net margin of 3.04% and a return on equity of 13.97%. The firm had revenue of $389.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $400.71 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ziff Davis will post 6.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jeremy Rossen sold 4,162 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.43, for a total value 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 $504,131.23. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ziff Davis

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ZD. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Ziff Davis by 9.4% in the first quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 58,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,656,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Lindenwold Advisors INC lifted its position in Ziff Davis by 6.4% during the first quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 4,312 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Ziff Davis during the first quarter worth approximately $289,000. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ziff Davis by 3.1% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 10,952 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ziff Davis by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 80,020 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,044,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.76% of the company’s stock.

About Ziff Davis

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.