Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $10.00 to $11.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective indicates a potential downside of 5.85% from the company’s current price.

CARS has been the topic of several other research reports. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Zacks Research raised Cars.com from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Cars.com from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price objective on Cars.com from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.67.

Cars.com Stock Performance

NYSE CARS opened at $11.68 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $9.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.83. The firm has a market cap of $679.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.17 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.87. Cars.com has a 1 year low of $7.40 and a 1 year high of $13.97.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.03). Cars.com had a net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 18.12%. The firm had revenue of $180.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.16 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cars.com will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cars.com

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CARS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,401,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,620,000 after purchasing an additional 262,443 shares during the period. Par Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Cars.com by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Par Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,697,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,911,000 after purchasing an additional 639,000 shares during the period. Hill Path Capital LP increased its position in Cars.com by 23.2% in the third quarter. Hill Path Capital LP now owns 2,481,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,318,000 after buying an additional 468,000 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Cars.com by 13.0% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,203,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,708,000 after buying an additional 138,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Cars.com by 112.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,127,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,751,000 after buying an additional 595,609 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.15% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Cars.com

Here are the key news stories impacting Cars.com this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Cars.com reaffirmed its 2026 outlook for flat to 2% revenue growth and a 29% to 30% adjusted EBITDA margin, while also boosting its share repurchase target to $90 million, signaling confidence in cash generation and capital return. Article link
• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results showed revenue of $180.2 million, adjusted EBITDA of $51.0 million, and an adjusted EBITDA margin of 28.3%, which exceeded guidance and suggests operating performance remains healthy despite modest top-line growth. Article link
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG Research raised its price target on Cars.com to $14 from $13 and kept a Buy rating, indicating some analysts see further upside from current levels. Article link
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan also lifted its price target to $11 from $10, even while maintaining a Neutral rating, reflecting improved valuation expectations after the earnings release. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Cars.com reported adjusted results that were largely in line with revenue expectations, but the market is balancing that against the earnings miss and modest growth profile. Article link
• Negative Sentiment: The company posted Q1 EPS of $0.45, missing Wall Street estimates of $0.48, which is the main reason shares have moved lower. Article link

Cars.com Company Profile

Cars.com operates as a leading online automotive marketplace in the United States, connecting car shoppers with new and used vehicle listings from dealerships and private sellers. The platform enables consumers to research makes and models, compare prices, read expert and user reviews, and access tools such as TrueCost to estimate ownership expenses over time. Through its website and mobile applications, Cars.com aims to simplify the car-buying process by aggregating detailed vehicle data, payment calculators, and dealership ratings into a single user-friendly experience.

On the dealer side, Cars.com provides a suite of marketing and lead-generation services designed to help automotive retailers reach potential buyers and manage their online presence.