Zillow Group initiated with a Market Perform at William Blair

William Blair initiated coverage of Zillow (Z) Group with a Market Perform rating. Zillow is the clear leader among home search portals in visitor traffic, with first-mover advantages from launching almost two decades ago, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says the company should benefit from a housing market recovery as its monetization is closely tied to home volumes. Zillow is making some early progress with a “super app,”, including in mortgage and rentals, but it could face challenges and complexities integrating with so many third parties across the value chain, contends William Blair.