CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on CARG. Citigroup raised their target price on CarGurus from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on CarGurus from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Zacks Research cut shares of CarGurus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of CarGurus in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of CarGurus from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.23.

CarGurus Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CARG opened at $28.61 on Friday. CarGurus has a 1 year low of $24.65 and a 1 year high of $40.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s 50-day moving average is $35.94 and its 200 day moving average is $35.16.

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.02. CarGurus had a return on equity of 41.31% and a net margin of 16.41%.The business had revenue of $238.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $234.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that CarGurus will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at CarGurus

In other news, insider Ismail Elshareef sold 1,645 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.21, for a total transaction of $52,985.45. Following the sale, the insider owned 91,822 shares in the company, valued at $2,957,586.62. This represents a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason Trevisan sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.00, for a total transaction of $740,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 655,483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,252,871. This trade represents a 2.96% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 49,003 shares of company stock worth $1,858,494. Corporate insiders own 17.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CARG. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of CarGurus by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 336,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,247,000 after buying an additional 21,167 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of CarGurus in the third quarter worth $70,856,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in CarGurus during the second quarter valued at $379,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in CarGurus by 11.5% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 465,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,348,000 after acquiring an additional 48,177 shares during the period. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in CarGurus by 82.7% in the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 141,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,270,000 after acquiring an additional 64,094 shares during the period. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CarGurus Company Profile

CarGurus, Inc operates an online automotive marketplace designed to connect buyers and sellers of new and used vehicles. Through its proprietary search engine and data-driven pricing tools, the platform enables consumers to compare listings, assess fair market values and locate local dealers offering competitive deals. CarGurus also provides detailed vehicle history reports, dealer reviews and financing options to streamline the car-shopping process for both private parties and franchised dealerships.

The company’s core product offerings include Instant Market Value (IMV), which leverages pricing algorithms to help buyers identify over- or under-priced vehicles, as well as dealer subscription services that grant automotive retailers access to lead generation tools, targeted advertising and dynamic pricing insights.