CoStar Group (NASDAQ:CSGP) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $72.62, but opened at $76.50. CoStar Group shares last traded at $73.60, with a volume of 905,769 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of CoStar Group in a report on Friday, February 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $89.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on CoStar Group from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on CoStar Group from $99.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of CoStar Group in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on CoStar Group in a research report on Friday, February 28th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CoStar Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.07.

CoStar Group Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $77.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.71. The company has a current ratio of 8.96, a quick ratio of 9.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $32.28 billion, a PE ratio of 224.86 and a beta of 0.88.

CoStar Group (NASDAQ:CSGP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. The company had revenue of $709.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $703.00 million. CoStar Group had a net margin of 5.07% and a return on equity of 3.11%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that CoStar Group, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CoStar Group announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Cynthia Cammett Cann sold 1,749 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.90, for a total value of $139,745.10. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,353,534.40. This trade represents a 5.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CoStar Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in CoStar Group by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 4,151 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in CoStar Group by 554.8% in the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,168 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 5,226 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. grew its position in CoStar Group by 129,366.7% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 3,884 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 3,881 shares in the last quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in CoStar Group by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,242 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $653,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the period. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of CoStar Group by 45.2% during the 1st quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 556,751 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $44,111,000 after buying an additional 173,367 shares in the last quarter. 96.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CoStar Group Company Profile

CoStar Group, Inc provides information, analytics, and online marketplace services to the commercial real estate, hospitality, residential, and related professionals industries in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company offers CoStar Property that provides inventory of office, industrial, retail, multifamily, hospitality, and student housing properties and land; CoStar Sales, a robust database of comparable commercial real estate sales transactions; CoStar Market Analytics to view and report on aggregated market and submarket trends; and CoStar Tenant, an online business-to-business prospecting and analytical tool that provides tenant information.