Zeta Global (ZETA) Stock

When 2020 presidential candidate Andrew Yang proposed incorporating universal basic income, skeptics retorted with the logical comeback: How will society pay for this? Yang countered this objection, stating that in the modern economy, data is the new gold. Every time a user opens Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) or buys something from Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), they leave valuable data footprints.

Zeta Global represents the natural evolution of digitalization, creating a platform that enables its corporate clients to harness consumer data to spark revenue growth and brand evangelization. Unsurprisingly, Zeta’s garnered tremendous interest. Here’s how to get involved.

Zeta Global Financial History

Though brick-and-mortar retailers symbolize commerce, over the last several years, businesses have increasingly transitioned to digital channels. And it’s not just about advantaging growth opportunities. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, e-commerce as a percentage of total retail sales jumped to 13.6% in the first quarter of 2021 from 11.4% in the year-ago quarter.

To put it bluntly, companies cannot survive without a strong digital presence. But because several established companies are deeply rooted in past business paradigms, they find it challenging to build an online following. 

That’s where Zeta Global steps into the picture. Through big data analytics and proprietary artificial intelligence protocols, Zeta facilitates targeted marketing initiatives, ensuring that its enterprise-level clients reach their target customer effectively and efficiently.

According to its website, Zeta claims an enterprise customer base of more than 1,000 organizations cutting across multiple industries. Thanks to its digital relevance, Zeta managed to grow its revenue by 20% to $368.1 million in 2020 from $306 million in the prior year. That’s despite the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To be fair, the company expanded its net loss to $53.2 million in 2020, compared to a loss of $38.5 million. Expenses racked up more than usual during the lockdowns and health-related risk mitigation measures. However, the implication is that once society recovers fully from the pandemic, management can better address the company’s expense structures.

Also, you should note that Zeta raised $310 million from two private funding rounds. In the latest raise which occurred on May 24, 2021, the digital marketing firm raised $250 million from lead investor Softbank (OTCMKTS: SFTBY).

Zeta Global Potential

While IPOs of any nature pose risks to prospective buyers, Zeta Global’s upcoming debut carries tremendous credibility. Mainly, this is due to the radical paradigm shift in consumer behaviors. As e-commerce data demonstrates, people increasingly prefer to buy products and services through online channels. Further, conduct research on potential purchases on the internet. Invariably, these actions leave a digital footprint, which marketing firms like Zeta Global can use to their advantage.

This also explains why Andrew Yang implored the American public to treat data as a precious commodity. Through your digital footprint, Zeta Global leverages its AI-driven platform to essentially create profiles of specific consumer demographics. Similar to a criminal investigator, Zeta helps its corporate clients predict what the target customer will do next. But rather than issue an arrest, the purpose here is to match people with the perfect products or services that they were looking for.

It’s no surprise, then, that Zeta enjoyed an increase in top-line sales when so many other businesses floundered during the initial onset of the pandemic. Still, investors should realize that ZETA isn’t the only game in town. Moreover, as technology improves, it’s conceivable that smaller enterprises could disrupt the digital marketing firm with near-identical but lower-cost services.

But as it stands today, Zeta benefits from an expansive presence and significant brand reputation. Also, keep in mind that because of COVID-19, many enterprises turned to Zeta to rapidly build up its digital commerce channels. Therefore, the AI-based marketing firm already built a high level of trust with its clients. That barrier will be very difficult to crack for incoming competitors.

How to Buy Zeta Global (ZETA) Stock

As a public retail investor, participating in an IPO may seem like a mixed-bag opportunity. Unfortunately, unless you are an institutional buyer or someone with extremely deep pocketbooks, underwriters will likely not allow you to buy shares at their initial offering price. And with a hyped debut like ZETA, an “IPO pop” will drive the asking price well north of the original rate.

However, retail investors have the advantage of discretion. Those who are fortunate enough to buy pre-IPO shares must buy all the offerings that come to their table or risk losing the privilege. Further, buying an IPO at the market’s open is easy. If you know how to buy stocks, you won’t need any further education. If you don’t, just follow the below simple steps.

Step 1: Pick a brokerage.

One of the most profound changes that connectivity technologies rendered in the business world is the online brokerage industry. Thanks to the internet, retail investors could simply log onto their account and trade whatever stocks they wanted.

More recently, mobile trading apps arrived on the scene, sparking yet another shift in the brokerage industry. To compete with these new services, well-established online brokers began incentivizing retail investors with commission-free trading and other benefits.

A happy outcome is that you can focus exclusively on your needs in picking the right brokerage. If you’re constantly busy, you may find that a trading app works just fine. Those who want to develop their acumen, however, may elect a comprehensive service.

Below is a list of best brokers to consider.

Step 2: Decide how many shares you want.

Before you place your trade, you should carefully take time to figure out how many shares you want. This process is crucial because your share count determines your risk-reward profile. A higher share count accrues you more profitability if your target stock increases in value but exposes you to more pain if it tumbles.

Step 3: Choose your order type.

Before placing your trade, make sure to understand the below concepts:

• Bid: The bid is the maximum price a buyer will extend. It is always lower than the ask.
• Ask: The ask is the minimum price that a seller will take. It is always higher than the bid.
• Spread: The difference between the bid and ask price, the spread also indicates market liquidity and risk. Narrower spreads suggest higher liquidity levels and lower risk due to buyer abundance, while the opposite conditions apply for wider spreads.
• Limit order: Place a limit order for trading a stock at a specific price. Limit orders are transparent but there’s no guarantee the market will fulfill them.
• Market order: To buy shares at the going rate, place a market order, which executes at the next available price. The terms are least favorable to you: buy orders will execute on the ask while sell orders execute on the bid.
• Stop-loss order: A stop-loss order automatically exits you out of your position at either a predetermined price or the next available price, whichever comes first. During a gap-down session, a stop loss may fill below your predetermined price.
• Stop-limit order: A stop-limit order is more transparent, only fulfilling at a predetermined price. But continued volatility following a gap-down session will leave your stop-limit order hanging unfulfilled.

Step 4: Execute your trade. 

To execute a market order, follow these steps:

1. Select action type (buy or sell).
2. Enter the shares you want to acquire (or sell).
3. Hit the Buy (or Sell) button.

Take the same steps above for limit orders, with the exception that you enter your desired execution price.

Investing in a Digital Future

As the post-pandemic environment pushes customers increasingly into the digital space, enterprises must adapt or fade away. To help acclimate enterprises to this new normal, Zeta Global leverages its data analytics and AI protocol to match consumers with the right products and services. Though a competitive arena, ZETA’s established client relationships will be difficult for rivals to upend.