Russell Investments Increases Stake in Zoom Communications by 8.8%

Russell Investments Group Ltd. has expanded its investment in Zoom Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) by acquiring an additional 34,437 shares, raising its total stake by 8.8% during the second quarter of 2023. According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the institutional investor now holds 426,988 shares valued at approximately $33,415,000.

This acquisition highlights a growing interest from various large investors in Zoom Communications. In the first quarter of 2023, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings by 22.8%, owning 7,928 shares worth $585,000 after purchasing an additional 1,470 shares. Cetera Investment Advisers also boosted its position by 45.9%, bringing its total to 24,206 shares valued at $1,786,000 after an additional purchase of 7,616 shares.

Other notable changes include HB Wealth Management LLC, which acquired a new stake valued at approximately $243,000, and Mackenzie Financial Corp., increasing its stake by 4.1% to own 73,878 shares worth $5,450,000. Additionally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise entered a new position valued at around $859,000. Collectively, institutional investors own about 66.54% of Zoom’s stock.

Insider Transactions and Stock Performance

Recent insider trading activity has also attracted attention. On November 4, 2023, Director Santiago Subotovsky sold 2,475 shares at an average price of $84.15, totaling $208,271.25. Following this transaction, Subotovsky holds 150,169 shares valued at approximately $12,636,721.35, reflecting a 1.62% decrease in his position.

In another significant transaction, CEO Eric S. Yuan sold 73,378 shares on November 17, 2023, at an average price of $82.73, amounting to a total sale of $6,070,561.94. Over the past 90 days, insiders have sold a total of 389,373 shares valued at $32,311,579. Currently, corporate insiders own about 11.51% of Zoom’s shares.

Zoom Communications recently announced its quarterly earnings on November 24, 2023, reporting earnings per share (EPS) of $1.52, surpassing analysts’ expectations of $1.44 by $0.08. The company achieved revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, exceeding predictions of $1.21 billion. This performance represents a 4.4% increase in revenue compared to the same period last year.

Looking ahead, Zoom has set guidance for fiscal year 2026, estimating EPS between $5.950 and $5.970, with fourth-quarter guidance expected to be between $1.480 and $1.490 EPS. Analysts forecast that Zoom Communications will report an EPS of $2.93 for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings and Market Outlook

Zoom Communications has received various ratings from industry analysts. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on September 30, 2023, while Wedbush set a price target of $95.00, maintaining its “outperform” rating. JMP Securities has also restated a “market perform” rating, and Dbs Bank upgraded Zoom to a “moderate buy” rating. Cantor Fitzgerald holds a “neutral” rating with a price target of $87.00.

Currently, ten research analysts classify Zoom Communications as a “Buy,” fifteen as “Hold,” and one as “Sell,” resulting in a consensus rating of “Hold” and a price target averaging $92.43, according to data from MarketBeat.com.

Zoom Video Communications, Inc. operates a unified communications platform across various regions, including the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Its offerings include Zoom Meetings for HD video and voice communication, Zoom Phone as an enterprise cloud phone system, and Zoom Chat for messaging and content sharing across devices.

As the demand for remote communication solutions continues to grow, Zoom Communications remains a key player in the industry, poised for further developments in the coming quarters.