Oppenheimer Has Lowered Expectations for CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) Stock Price

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) had its price target cut by equities researchers at Oppenheimer from $40.00 to $38.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 25.58% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. BTIG Research dropped their price target on CarGurus from $44.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 20th. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of CarGurus from $37.50 to $33.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of CarGurus from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of CarGurus from $40.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of CarGurus in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CarGurus currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.14.

CarGurus Price Performance

Shares of CARG stock opened at $30.26 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.79. CarGurus has a one year low of $24.65 and a one year high of $39.42.

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.02. CarGurus had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 47.50%. The firm had revenue of $209.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. CarGurus has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.520-0.580 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that CarGurus will post 1.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ismail Elshareef sold 1,645 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.21, for a total transaction of $52,985.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 91,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,957,586.62. This represents a 1.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Ladd Hanson sold 2,358 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.10, for a total value of $89,839.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 50,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,922,754.60. The trade was a 4.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 49,003 shares of company stock worth $1,858,494 in the last 90 days. 16.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CarGurus

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Horizon Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of CarGurus by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 16,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $628,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in CarGurus by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in CarGurus by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in CarGurus by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 15,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $613,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in CarGurus by 71.1% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key CarGurus News

Here are the key news stories impacting CarGurus this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company reported continued growth and dealer-network expansion (14% annual revenue growth to ~$907M), bolstering the case for sustained top-line momentum. CarGurus reports 14% annual revenue growth to $907M
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary that AI-related concerns have eased and a research firm (Huber) publicly defended the shares helped reduce some downside pressure on sentiment. CarGurus stock gains as AI concerns ease, Huber Research Defends
• Neutral Sentiment: Oppenheimer lowered its price target slightly from $40 to $38 but kept an “Outperform” rating, which provides analyst support even as it trims upside expectations. Oppenheimer trims price target
• Neutral Sentiment: One short-interest report in the public feed shows zero shares (and NaN change)—this appears to be a data error and should be treated cautiously rather than market-moving.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple outlets report a large data breach affecting ~12–12.5 million user records (and separate counts of ~1.7M corporate records in some reports). Breach headlines raise regulatory, remediation and reputational risks that typically weigh on tech/platform stocks. Over 12 Million Users Impacted by CarGurus Data Breach
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest rose materially in February — reported at ~5.62M shares (up ~28.8% vs Jan 29), representing ~7.1% of shares outstanding and a ~4.3 days-to-cover figure — increasing potential downward pressure and volatility if bearish activity continues.

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.