Porch Group (NASDAQ:PRCH) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Porch Group (NASDAQ:PRCH) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Thursday morning,Zacks reports.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Texas Capital raised Porch Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Porch Group from $16.25 to $16.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Porch Group from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Craig Hallum boosted their price target on shares of Porch Group from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on shares of Porch Group from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.64.

Porch Group Trading Down 0.4%

PRCH traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $17.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,964,048 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,670,338. The stock has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of -145.83 and a beta of 3.18. Porch Group has a fifty-two week low of $6.36 and a fifty-two week high of $18.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.53, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The business’s 50-day moving average is $16.92 and its 200-day moving average is $13.12.

Porch Group (NASDAQ:PRCH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.08. Porch Group had a negative return on equity of 68.47% and a negative net margin of 2.67%. The company had revenue of $131.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $122.30 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Porch Group will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Porch Group news, COO Matthew Neagle sold 27,881 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.35, for a total value of $483,735.35. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 1,864,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,355,685.35. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Matt Ehrlichman sold 26,135 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.35, for a total value of $453,442.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,930,999 shares in the company, valued at $276,402,832.65. This represents a 0.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 242,977 shares of company stock worth $4,078,593 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 27.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Porch Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Porch Group by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Porch Group by 2.8% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 39,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $587,000 after buying an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its stake in Porch Group by 0.3% in the second quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 658,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,909,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in Porch Group by 5.1% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 40,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,000 after buying an additional 1,981 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Porch Group during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 48.48% of the company’s stock.

About Porch Group

Porch Group, Inc is a vertical software company focused on the home services industry. Through its technology platforms and related services, the company helps home-service businesses manage operations, attract customers, improve workflow efficiency and support transactions connected with buying, selling, maintaining and moving into homes.

Porch Group’s products and services have included customer relationship management, marketing and lead-generation tools, payments, workflow software and other business solutions for contractors and home-service professionals.