CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy Rating

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

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on CARG. Piper Sandler reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of CarGurus in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Barclays assumed coverage on CarGurus in a report on Thursday, May 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on CarGurus from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group set a $35.00 target price on CarGurus in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered CarGurus from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.79.

CarGurus Trading Up 6.4%

Shares of NASDAQ CARG opened at $33.03 on Friday. CarGurus has a 12 month low of $26.39 and a 12 month high of $39.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of 21.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.17.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CarGurus news, insider Jennifer Ladd Hanson sold 2,499 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.61, for a total value of $88,989.39. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 98,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,496,581.51. The trade was a 2.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 stock was sold at an average price of $33.04, for a total value of $143,426.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 246,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,131,077.92. This 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. Insiders have sold a total of 20,924 shares of company stock worth $669,419 over the last three months. 16.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of CarGurus

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in CarGurus by 22.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 75,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,186,000 after buying an additional 13,834 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CarGurus by 25.4% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 25,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $756,000 after buying an additional 5,259 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of CarGurus by 3.0% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 64,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after acquiring an additional 1,890 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of CarGurus by 113.0% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 123,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,592,000 after acquiring an additional 65,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in CarGurus in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $87,000. 86.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About CarGurus

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.