Zoom Video Communications (NASDAQ:ZM) Raised to Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Zoom Video Communications (NASDAQ:ZM) was upgraded by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a $100.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $85.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 16.82% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on ZM. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Zoom Video Communications from $78.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Zoom Video Communications from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wedbush started coverage on shares of Zoom Video Communications in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Zoom Video Communications in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Zoom Video Communications in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Zoom Video Communications currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $87.10.

Zoom Video Communications Price Performance

Shares of ZM opened at $85.60 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $26.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.53, a PEG ratio of 5.29 and a beta of -0.03. The company has a 50-day moving average of $79.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.54. Zoom Video Communications has a one year low of $55.06 and a one year high of $92.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Shane Crehan sold 1,551 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.94, for a total transaction of $131,741.94. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $276,139.94. This trade represents a 32.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Velchamy Sankarlingam sold 3,618 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.94, for a total transaction of $307,312.92. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 107,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,158,740.44. This represents a 3.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 428,513 shares of company stock valued at $32,366,914 in the last 90 days. 10.78% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zoom Video Communications

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZM. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its stake in Zoom Video Communications by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 7,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoom Video Communications by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 9,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $655,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Zoom Video Communications by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $556,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zoom Video Communications by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 4,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Zoom Video Communications by 4.0% in the third quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 4,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. 66.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Zoom Video Communications

Zoom Video Communications, Inc provides unified communications platform in the Americas, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The company offers Zoom Meetings that offers HD video, voice, chat, and content sharing through mobile devices, desktops, laptops, telephones, and conference room systems; Zoom Phone, an enterprise cloud phone system; and Zoom Chat enables users to share messages, images, audio files, and content in desktop, laptop, tablet, and mobile devices.