OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) Coverage Initiated at Stephens

Stephens began coverage on shares of OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an equal weight rating and a $20.00 price objective on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on KAR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on OPENLANE from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of OPENLANE in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of OPENLANE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.60.

OPENLANE Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:KAR opened at $20.36 on Wednesday. OPENLANE has a fifty-two week low of $12.86 and a fifty-two week high of $20.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $20.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.11. The stock has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.52.

OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The specialty retailer reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.04. OPENLANE had a net margin of 4.26% and a return on equity of 8.67%. The firm had revenue of $448.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $431.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that OPENLANE will post 0.84 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other OPENLANE news, CFO Brad S. Lakhia purchased 4,985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $20.06 per share, for a total transaction of $99,999.10. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,303 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,918.18. This trade represents a 53.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On OPENLANE

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of OPENLANE by 5.3% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 15,822 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $267,000 after buying an additional 793 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its position in OPENLANE by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 112,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,896,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of OPENLANE by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 54,254 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $900,000 after purchasing an additional 1,450 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of OPENLANE by 6.6% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 23,889 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,472 shares during the period. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of OPENLANE by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 41,912 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,477 shares during the last quarter. 99.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

OPENLANE Company Profile

OPENLANE, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital marketplace for used vehicles, which connects sellers and buyers in North America, Europe, the Philippines, and Uruguay. The company operates through two segments, Marketplace and Finance. The Marketplace segment offers digital marketplace services for buying and selling used vehicles.