OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

OPENLANE, Inc. (NYSE:KAR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $22.00 and last traded at $22.34, with a volume of 58457 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.32.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KAR has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of OPENLANE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 22nd. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of OPENLANE in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Stephens upgraded shares of OPENLANE from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of OPENLANE from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.80.

OPENLANE Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $20.47 and its 200-day moving average is $18.68. The stock has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a PE ratio of 42.14, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.52.

OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. OPENLANE had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The company had revenue of $455.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.64 million. Analysts expect that OPENLANE, Inc. will post 0.95 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning purchased a new stake in shares of OPENLANE during the third quarter worth about $193,000. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of OPENLANE by 20.1% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 292,094 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,931,000 after purchasing an additional 48,930 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of OPENLANE by 1,588.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 19,834 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 18,659 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of OPENLANE by 15.3% during the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 5,045,087 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $85,161,000 after purchasing an additional 671,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 793 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.76% of the company’s stock.

About OPENLANE

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.