NerdWallet (NASDAQ:NRDS) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

NerdWallet, Inc. (NASDAQ:NRDS) shares gapped down prior to trading on Friday after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating. The stock had previously closed at $10.36, but opened at $9.74. Morgan Stanley now has a $9.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $14.00. NerdWallet shares last traded at $10.1080, with a volume of 300,498 shares changing hands.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Zacks Research lowered NerdWallet from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on NerdWallet from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of NerdWallet from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.33.

Insider Transactions at NerdWallet

In related news, CAO Nicholas Tatum sold 10,151 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.45, for a total value of $116,228.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 47,202 shares in the company, valued at $540,462.90. This trade represents a 17.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 46.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NerdWallet

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in NerdWallet by 1,231.3% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 538,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,296,000 after acquiring an additional 497,978 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new position in shares of NerdWallet in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,812,000. Nuveen LLC lifted its stake in shares of NerdWallet by 296.1% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 330,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,480,000 after purchasing an additional 247,157 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of NerdWallet by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,133,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,200,000 after purchasing an additional 234,691 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of NerdWallet by 52.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 489,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,634,000 after purchasing an additional 167,954 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 38.81% of the company’s stock.

NerdWallet Trading Down 3.7%

The company has a market cap of $666.63 million, a P/E ratio of 15.59 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $11.53 and a 200 day moving average of $12.13.

NerdWallet (NASDAQ:NRDS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $225.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.37 million. NerdWallet had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 5.82%.The company’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that NerdWallet, Inc. will post 0.36 EPS for the current year.

NerdWallet announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About NerdWallet

NerdWallet (NASDAQ: NRDS) is a personal finance company that offers independent guidance and comparison tools to help consumers make informed financial decisions. Through its website and mobile application, NerdWallet provides a wide range of content, including articles, calculators and reviews covering credit cards, mortgages, personal loans, banking products, investing, insurance and taxes. The platform aggregates partner offers to enable side-by-side comparisons, while editorially maintaining objectivity to support users in identifying the products that best suit their individual needs.

Founded in 2009 by Tim Chen and Jacob Gibson, NerdWallet is headquartered in San Francisco and serves consumers primarily in the United States, with additional localized offerings in Canada and the United Kingdom.