CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of CarGurus in a research report on Friday. BTIG Research reduced their price objective 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 reduced their price objective on CarGurus from $37.50 to $33.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on CarGurus from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on CarGurus from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.79.

CarGurus Stock Performance

CarGurus stock opened at $27.17 on Friday. CarGurus has a 52 week low of $26.39 and a 52 week high of $39.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $32.45 and a 200-day moving average of $33.55.

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. CarGurus had a return on equity of 54.42% and a net margin of 15.57%.The company had revenue of $243.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $243.10 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. CarGurus’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. CarGurus has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.570-0.640 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that CarGurus will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CarGurus news, insider Jennifer Ladd Hanson sold 2,499 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.61, for a total transaction of $88,989.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 98,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,496,581.51. This represents a 2.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Matthew Todd Quinn sold 4,341 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.04, for a total value of $143,426.64. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 246,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,131,077.92. This trade represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,924 shares of company stock valued at $669,419. Insiders own 16.99% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CarGurus

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CARG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of CarGurus by 17.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 545,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,314,000 after buying an additional 82,511 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of CarGurus by 230.6% in the third quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 580,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,598,000 after buying an additional 404,617 shares during the period. Aurora Investment Counsel purchased a new position in shares of CarGurus in the third quarter worth about $2,174,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of CarGurus by 100.3% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 102,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,828,000 after purchasing an additional 51,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its position in CarGurus by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,958,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,095,000 after acquiring an additional 54,937 shares in the last quarter. 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.