Lazard Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in QuinStreet, Inc. $QNST

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in QuinStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ:QNST) by 619.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,441,113 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,240,667 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in QuinStreet were worth $17,308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of QNST. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of QuinStreet by 1,000.3% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 900,264 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,264 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of QuinStreet in the first quarter valued at about $6,005,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in QuinStreet by 213.3% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 714,482 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,746,000 after purchasing an additional 486,406 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of QuinStreet by 42.1% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,595,184 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $22,923,000 after buying an additional 472,407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of QuinStreet by 190.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 525,775 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,465,000 after buying an additional 344,714 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.83% of the company’s stock.

QuinStreet Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of QNST stock opened at $16.13 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $926.51 million, a P/E ratio of 14.15 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $14.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.08. QuinStreet, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $10.28 and a fifty-two week high of $18.02.

QuinStreet (NASDAQ:QNST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $346.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $336.22 million. QuinStreet had a net margin of 5.53% and a return on equity of 9.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 28.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.21 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that QuinStreet, Inc. will post 0.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on QNST. Zacks Research cut QuinStreet from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. B. Riley Financial upgraded QuinStreet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised QuinStreet from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of QuinStreet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Gregory Wong sold 10,338 shares of QuinStreet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value of $155,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 390,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,855,160. This trade represents a 2.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

About QuinStreet

QuinStreet, Inc operates a technology-based performance marketing platform that connects companies with prospective customers across multiple verticals. The company specializes in data-driven lead generation for financial services, education, insurance, healthcare, and home services firms. By leveraging proprietary targeting algorithms and real-time analytics, QuinStreet manages customized digital marketing campaigns to optimize customer acquisition and retention for its clients.

Through a portfolio of consumer-facing websites and comparison platforms, QuinStreet delivers targeted visitors who are actively researching products and services.