Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) Reaches New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $395.00 to $420.00. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the stock. Carvana traded as high as $437.32 and last traded at $425.9960, with a volume of 2520309 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $399.77.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on CVNA. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Carvana in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Zacks Research cut shares of Carvana from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Carvana in a report on Monday, November 17th. Barclays began coverage on Carvana in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Carvana from $490.00 to $445.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $426.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Mark W. Jenkins sold 12,750 shares of Carvana stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $389.27, for a total transaction of $4,963,192.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 207,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,719,805.74. This trade represents a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan S. Keeton sold 32,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.68, for a total value of $9,765,381.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 115,456 shares in the company, valued at $34,830,766.08. This trade represents a 21.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 383,380 shares of company stock valued at $142,038,695 in the last three months. Company insiders own 16.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carvana

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in Carvana in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of Carvana by 961.5% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Carvana by 8,700.0% during the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 88 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Carvana by 960.0% in the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in Carvana in the third quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.71% of the company’s stock.

Carvana Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 4.05 and a quick ratio of 2.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.15, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 3.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $349.22 and its 200-day moving average is $348.17.

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $5.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.04 billion. Carvana had a return on equity of 30.62% and a net margin of 3.44%.Carvana’s quarterly revenue was up 54.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Carvana Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

About Carvana

Carvana Co, together with its subsidiaries, operates an e-commerce platform for buying and selling used cars in the United States. Its platform allows customers to research and identify a vehicle; inspect it using company's 360-degree vehicle imaging technology; obtain financing and warranty coverage; purchase the vehicle; and schedule delivery or pick-up from their desktop or mobile devices.