OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

OPENLANE, Inc. (NYSE:KAR) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $22.91 and last traded at $22.88, with a volume of 180994 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $22.75.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KAR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded OPENLANE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered OPENLANE from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Stephens upgraded OPENLANE from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of OPENLANE in a research note on Friday, February 21st.

OPENLANE Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 42.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $19.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.27.

OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty retailer reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.07. OPENLANE had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 6.27%. The business had revenue of $460.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.70 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.19 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that OPENLANE, Inc. will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other OPENLANE news, EVP James P. Coyle sold 7,000 shares of OPENLANE stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.72, for a total value of $152,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $793,018.92. The trade was a 16.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.51% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OPENLANE

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of OPENLANE in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,822,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in OPENLANE during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,115,000. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in OPENLANE during the fourth quarter worth approximately $254,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in OPENLANE by 119.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 306,038 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,072,000 after purchasing an additional 166,536 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in OPENLANE by 344.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 178,964 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,022,000 after purchasing an additional 138,720 shares during 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.