Zillow (NASDAQ:Z) stock is soaring on Monday as one of the company’s co-founders bought a large chunk of shares of Z stock following an underwhelming third-quarter report.
The company said nearly three weeks ago that its third quarter brought in revenue that came in below Wall Street’s expectations, while its full-year 2018 revenue guidance was also calling for sales that were underwhelming. The stock’s price declined as a result, which eventually led to co-founder and executive chairman Rich Barton assuming a larger position in Z stock.
Barton decided to buy both class A and class C shares of the stock between Nov. 16 and Nov. 20, paying a total of $19.2 million. All in all, he acquired 132,700 class C shares, as well as 570,795 class A shares, according to a filing the Zillow co-founder made with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last week.
He bought the shares at an average price of $27.07 per class C share, as well as $27.41 for each class A share.
Barton’s decision to buy into his own company during a downturn for the stock sent both stocks soaring as its class C stock — which sells under the ticker symbol Z — surged 10.4% Monday afternoon, now selling at $32.45 per share. Meanwhile, its class A stock — which sells under the stock symbol ZG — gained more than 9.8% on Monday, now selling for $32 per share.
