CoStar Group is a leading provider of online commercial real estate data, analytics, and marketplaces within the business services sector.
The company is distinguished by its vast proprietary database, which underpins its flagship platforms like CoStar and Apartments.com, serving as an essential intelligence tool for industry professionals.
Updated: January 14, 2026, 16:00 EST
Based on the provided analysis, here is a comprehensive assessment of CSGP.
Technical Analysis CSGP is in a pronounced downtrend, having lost over 20% in the last three months and now trading near its 52-week low. This positions the stock in technically oversold territory, which can sometimes signal a potential bounce. However, the trend remains strongly bearish, and catching a "falling knife" carries significant risk without a clear technical catalyst for a reversal.
Fundamental Analysis The company shows a mixed fundamental picture. While it possesses solid revenue growth and an exceptionally strong balance sheet with high cash reserves, this is overshadowed by a severe drop into net losses and negative operational income. Essentially, the company is growing its top line but losing money in the process, indicating profitability challenges.
Valuation & Risk Valuation metrics are exceptionally high, with negative forward earnings and a sky-high EV/EBITDA multiple. This suggests the stock is priced for near-perfect future growth, leaving little room for error. Although its beta is below 1, the stock has demonstrated high specific risk with a large maximum drawdown, meaning it can fall sharply even in a stable market.
Buy Recommendation
Based on this analysis, CSGP is not a compelling buy at this time. The combination of a strong bearish price trend, a problematic shift into unprofitability, and an extremely rich valuation creates significant downside risk. Investors should wait for clear signs of both a technical trend reversal and a fundamental improvement in profitability before considering a position. The current setup offers more risk than reward.
*Note: This is not investment advice, for reference only.*
Based on the provided analysis, the 12-month outlook for CSGP is cautious, with significant challenges outweighing near-term catalysts.
Key Catalysts: A potential technical bounce from its deeply oversold condition near 52-week lows could provide short-term relief. The primary fundamental catalyst would be a clear path for the company to translate its solid revenue growth back into profitability, which is not currently evident.
Potential Risks: The major risks are pronounced, including the persistent bearish technical trend, the company's recent descent into net losses despite revenue growth, and an exceptionally rich valuation that leaves no room for operational missteps.
Target Price: Given the lack of analyst targets and the prevailing negative technical and fundamental momentum, establishing a reliable target range is difficult. The path of least resistance appears skewed downward until profitability is restored. A prudent approach would be to wait for a confirmed technical reversal and fundamental improvement before establishing a price target.
Most Wall Street analysts are optimistic about CSGP's 12-month outlook, with consensus target around $63.87, indicating expected upside potential.
Overall, CSGP has investment potential but also faces challenges. Here are key factors to weigh before investing.
Of course. Here is the technical analysis of CSGP's price performance.
Overall Assessment CSGP has experienced significant downward pressure, with a substantial 20.26% loss over the past three months, indicating a strong bearish trend.
Short-term Performance The stock has underperformed both on an absolute and relative basis, with a sharp -8.37% drop in the last month alone. While the positive 3-month relative strength figure suggests it has fallen less than the broader market, this is more indicative of severe market-wide weakness rather than CSGP exhibiting genuine strength.
Current Position Trading at $61.82, CSGP is near the lower end of its 52-week range ($57.01 - $97.43), positioning it in technically oversold territory. Given its significant maximum drawdown of -39.6% and low beta, the current price reflects a period of pronounced weakness, albeit with potentially dampened volatility compared to the market.
| Period | CSGP Return | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|
| 1m | -6.4% | +1.3% |
| 3m | -15.5% | +5.7% |
| 6m | -24.4% | +10.6% |
| 1y | -12.8% | +16.5% |
| ytd | -2.8% | +1.1% |
Revenue & Profitability: Quarterly revenue grew approximately 6.7% from Q2 to Q3 2025, indicating solid top-line expansion. However, profitability declined significantly with the company posting a net loss of $30.9 million in Q3 versus a $6.2 million profit in Q2, reflecting margin compression despite maintaining a strong gross profit ratio of 79.3%. The negative operating income ratio of -6.1% suggests operational expense growth is outpacing revenue gains.
Financial Health: The company maintains excellent liquidity with current and quick ratios above 3.1, supported by substantial cash reserves representing over 2.6 times current liabilities. Debt levels remain manageable with a low debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, though the negative interest coverage ratio of -11.6 indicates current operating losses are insufficient to cover interest expenses without relying on cash reserves.
Operational Efficiency: Operational metrics show challenges with negative returns on assets (-0.3%) and equity (-0.4%), reflecting inefficient profitability generation from invested capital. The asset turnover of 0.08 indicates relatively low revenue generation per dollar of assets, though strong inventory turnover (27.3x) and receivables management (27 DSO) demonstrate effective working capital management.
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Try Now & Get Tesla Stock RewardValuation Level: CSGP's elevated trailing PE of 241.2 and negative forward PE ratio reflect significant earnings volatility, suggesting a premium valuation based on current profitability. However, the high PS ratio of 8.62 and extremely elevated EV/EBITDA of over 1,174 indicate the stock is richly valued relative to its revenue generation and cash flow. The relatively low PEG ratio of 0.48, if reliable, suggests the market may be pricing in substantial future growth expectations to justify these multiples.
Peer Comparison: Without industry average data for comparison, a definitive peer assessment cannot be established. The available ratios suggest CSGP operates in a high-growth sector where premium valuations are common, though the extreme multiples indicate it likely trades at a significant premium even within its industry cohort. Further context from comparable companies would be necessary to determine its relative valuation positioning.
Volatility Risk: With a beta of 0.841, CSGP has exhibited lower volatility than the broader market, implying reduced systemic risk. However, the significant one-year maximum drawdown of -39.6% indicates the stock has experienced substantial peak-to-trough declines, pointing to high specific risk during market downturns that is not fully captured by its beta.
Other Risks: The negligible short interest suggests a lack of significant speculative pressure or negative investor sentiment against the stock. This lack of short interest, combined with the observed drawdown, could indicate a potential risk of underexamined downside vulnerabilities or a concentrated shareholder base that may lead to illiquidity during a sell-off.
Neutral to cautious. While CSGP is fundamentally sound with strong liquidity and is technically oversold, its bearish trend and negative profitability amidst new competitive threats from Google create significant uncertainty. The stock may suit aggressive, long-term investors who believe the company can overcome the competitive disruption, but risk-averse investors should wait for clearer signs of stabilization.
Based on the data provided, CSGP appears significantly overvalued. Key metrics like the trailing PE of 241.2 and PS ratio of 8.62 indicate an extreme premium, even for a high-growth company, and the negative forward PE highlights severe earnings disruption. While the PEG ratio of 0.48 suggests the market is pricing in substantial future growth, the current fundamentals do not justify this premium; the company's profitability has collapsed into a net loss, and operational returns are negative. This valuation seems to rely heavily on optimistic growth expectations that are not yet supported by the underlying financial performance.
Based on the provided analysis of CSGP (CoStar Group), here are the key risks of holding the stock, ordered by importance:
1. Business & Profitability Risk: The transition to a significant quarterly net loss, driven by operational expenses outpacing revenue growth, poses a fundamental risk to the company's ability to generate sustainable earnings. 2. Specific Price Risk: Despite a low beta, the stock has experienced a severe maximum drawdown of -39.6% and recent sharp declines, indicating high vulnerability to company-specific issues that can lead to substantial capital loss. 3. Financial Risk (Coverage): The negative interest coverage ratio reveals that current operating losses are insufficient to cover interest expenses, creating a reliance on cash reserves to service debt. 4. Market Liquidity Risk: The combination of negligible short interest and a significant drawdown suggests a potential for underexamined vulnerabilities and a concentrated shareholder base, which could exacerbate selling pressure and lead to illiquidity during a market downturn.
Based on the current analysis, my 2026 forecast for CSGP (CoStar Group) is highly speculative due to conflicting signals and a lack of clear direction. The forecast hinges entirely on whether management can address the critical profitability issue.
* Target Price Range: A base case of $55-$65 assumes persistent margin challenges offsetting modest revenue growth. A bull case of $75-$90 is contingent on a successful operational turnaround that restores net profitability. * Key Growth Drivers: The primary drivers are (1) leveraging its strong gross margins to achieve operational efficiency, (2) monetizing its solid revenue base and market position, and (3) deploying its excellent liquidity for strategic acquisitions or investments. * Main Assumptions: This forecast assumes the company's high liquidity provides a multi-year buffer to engineer a turnaround, but also that investor patience for losses is limited without clear progress. * Uncertainty: The forecast carries extreme uncertainty, as the stock's path is binaryโit will either successfully execute a profitability turnaround or face continued severe pressure from its current negative earnings and rich valuation.