Ziff Davis, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZD) Short Interest Update

Ziff Davis, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZD) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,440,000 shares, a decrease of 13.5% from the December 31st total of 2,820,000 shares. Currently, 5.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 423,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.8 days.

Ziff Davis Price Performance

NASDAQ ZD opened at $53.89 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.67 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $55.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.67. Ziff Davis has a 1 year low of $37.76 and a 1 year high of $70.02.

Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The technology company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $353.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.66 million. Ziff Davis had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 4.52%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ziff Davis will post 5.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ziff Davis

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ZD. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Ziff Davis by 100,954.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,267,221 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $68,861,000 after buying an additional 1,265,967 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Ziff Davis by 170.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 259,758 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $14,115,000 after buying an additional 163,708 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Ziff Davis in the 3rd quarter valued at $7,210,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board purchased a new stake in Ziff Davis in the 3rd quarter worth $4,618,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. acquired a new position in Ziff Davis during the third quarter worth $4,263,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Ziff Davis from $76.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ziff Davis from $44.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.71.

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.