JMP Securities Reaffirms Market Perform Rating for CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG)

JMP Securities restated their market perform rating on shares of CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on CARG. UBS Group boosted their price target on CarGurus from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on CarGurus from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on CarGurus from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $24.90.

CarGurus Stock Performance

Shares of CarGurus stock opened at $22.20 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a PE ratio of 123.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.78. CarGurus has a one year low of $15.34 and a one year high of $24.64.

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.01. CarGurus had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 3.40%. The business had revenue of $223.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $220.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that CarGurus will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CarGurus news, General Counsel Javier Esquivel Zamora sold 23,557 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.13, for a total value of $521,316.41. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 111,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,469,464.57. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other CarGurus news, COO Samuel Zales sold 17,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total value of $378,448.56. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 548,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,756,259.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Javier Esquivel Zamora sold 23,557 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.13, for a total value of $521,316.41. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 111,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,469,464.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,793 shares of company stock worth $2,523,342. Corporate insiders own 15.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of CarGurus during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in CarGurus in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in CarGurus in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in CarGurus by 56.8% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in CarGurus by 32.5% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.