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EverQuote Stock Rallies 72.3% Year to Date: More Room for Upside?

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EverQuote, Inc. (EVER - Free Report) shares have rallied 72.3% year to date compared with the industry's growth of 19.2%. The Finance sector and the Zacks S&P 500 composite have returned 15.5% and 20.6%, respectively, in the same time frame. With a market capitalization of $739.92 million, the average volume of shares traded in the last three months was 0.5 million.

EVER Outperforms Industry, Sector & S&P

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

This multi-line insurer, sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present, delivered an earnings surprise in each of the last four quarters, the average beat being 144.90%.

EVER has a VGM Score of A. VGM Score helps identify stocks with the most attractive value, best growth and the most promising momentum.

Back-tested results show that stocks with a VGM Score of A or B, when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2 (Buy), offer the best opportunities in the value investing space.

EVER Trading Above 200-Day Moving Average

Currently priced at $21.09, the stock is trading above the 200-day simple moving average (SMA) of $19.18, indicating solid upward momentum. SMA is a widely used technical analysis tool to predict future price trends by analyzing historical price data.

EverQuote’s Growth Projection Encourages

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EverQuote’s 2024 earnings per share indicates a year-over-year increase of 137%. The consensus estimate for revenues is pegged at $473.50 million, implying a year-over-year improvement of 64.4%. The consensus estimate for 2025 earnings per share and revenues indicates an increase of 44.4% and 23.3%, respectively, from the corresponding 2024 estimates. EVER also has an impressive Growth Score of A. This style score helps analyze the growth prospects of a company.

Optimistic Analyst Sentiment for EVER

Each of the six analysts covering the stock has raised estimates for 2024 and 2025 over the past 60 days. Thus, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 and 2025 moved 1,040% and 331.5% north, respectively, in the last 60 days, reflecting analyst optimism.

Factors Acting in Favor of EVER

EverQuote’s top line has been increasing over the years owing to the solid performance of automotive and other insurance marketplace verticals. It remains well-poised to gain from the normalization of auto insurance carrier demand, given auto carrier recovery. It also remains focused on rapidly expanding into new verticals.

Increasing consumer traffic, higher quote request volume and innovating advertiser products and services will continue to drive revenues. EverQuote expects revenues between $137 million and $143 million in the third quarter of 2024.

The variable marketing margin (VMM) is likely to gain from declining customer acquisition costs and a shift in the revenue mix to local agent networks with higher VMMs. EVER expects the dynamics of the auto insurance market to put pressure on VMM within the auto insurance vertical. Apart from the auto insurance vertical, the company expects VMM to benefit from strong revenue growth within the health direct-to-consumer agency during the annual health open enrollment period. This is expected to drive the VMM operating point for the business. EverQuote expects VMM in the third quarter of 2024 between $38.5 million and $41.5 million.

EVER boasts a debt free balance sheet with cash balance improving over the last three years. The company aims to meet any future debt service obligations with the existing cash and cash equivalents and cash flows from operations, which are expected to be sufficient to fund operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements for at least the next 12 months, without considering liquidity available from the revolving line of credit.

In its efforts to strengthen its balance sheet and liquidity position, EverQuote modified its existing loan agreement with Western Alliance Bank. The company has a $25 million undrawn working capital line of credit with Western Alliance Bank, which is available until July 2025.

Other Stocks to Consider

Some other top-ranked stocks from the insurance industry are Assurant, Inc. (AIZ - Free Report) , MGIC Investment Corporation (MTG - Free Report) and Radian Group Inc. (RDN - Free Report) . While Assurant and MGIC Investment sport a Zacks Rank #1 each, Radian carries a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Assurant has a solid track record of beating earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average being 33.56%. In the past year, shares of AIZ have rallied 18%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AIZ’s 2024 and 2025 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 6.7% and 6.1%, respectively.

MGIC Investment has a solid track record of beating earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average being 15.59%. In the past year, shares of MTG have climbed 32.7%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MTG’s 2024 and 2025 revenues implies year-over-year growth of 4.7% and 4.6%, respectively.

Radian Group has a solid track record of beating earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average being 21.3%. In the past year, shares of RDN have jumped 21.5%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RDN’s 2024 and 2025 revenues implies year-over-year growth of 6.2% and 5.5%, respectively.

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