CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG) gapped up prior to trading on Friday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $29.00 to $33.00. The stock had previously closed at $27.95, but opened at $31.67. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. CarGurus shares last traded at $31.29, with a volume of 224,693 shares changing hands.

CARG has been the topic of a number of other reports. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of CarGurus from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of CarGurus from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $34.00 in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on CarGurus from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, JMP Securities reduced their price objective on CarGurus from $43.00 to $38.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at CarGurus

In related news, COO Samuel Zales sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.78, for a total transaction of $307,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 390,025 shares in the company, valued at $12,004,969.50. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Zachary Emerson Hallowell sold 1,824 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.73, for a total value of $48,755.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 129,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,469,286.70. This trade represents a 1.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,824 shares of company stock valued at $907,856. Company insiders own 16.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CarGurus

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of CarGurus by 168.7% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,524,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,704,000 after purchasing an additional 957,035 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in CarGurus by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,145,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $261,091,000 after buying an additional 802,602 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CarGurus by 237,430.8% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 731,595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,312,000 after buying an additional 731,287 shares in the last quarter. No Street GP LP acquired a new stake in shares of CarGurus during the 4th quarter valued at $25,578,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CarGurus in the 4th quarter worth $19,465,000. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CarGurus Stock Up 10.8 %

The company has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 172.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $28.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.73.

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.06). CarGurus had a return on equity of 27.14% and a net margin of 2.34%. The firm had revenue of $228.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.72 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CarGurus, Inc. will post 1.41 EPS for the current year.

CarGurus Company Profile

CarGurus, Inc operates an online automotive platform for buying and selling vehicles in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, U.S. Marketplace and Digital Wholesale. The company provides an online automotive marketplace where customers can search for new and used car listings from its dealers and sell their car to dealers and other consumers; and paid listings subscriptions for enhanced access to its marketplace that connects dealers to a large audience of informed and engaged consumers.