Zacks Research Downgrades Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) to Hold

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

CVNA has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Carvana in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Argus cut their price target on shares of Carvana from $500.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Robert W. Baird set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Carvana in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Carvana in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Carvana from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.92.

Carvana Price Performance

Shares of CVNA opened at $70.54 on Wednesday. Carvana has a 12-month low of $54.46 and a 12-month high of $97.38. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.43. The company has a quick ratio of 2.57, a current ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market cap of $77.37 billion, a PE ratio of 42.91, a PEG ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 3.46.

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $1.37. Carvana had a return on equity of 41.46% and a net margin of 6.40%.The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.12 billion. Analysts anticipate that Carvana will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ira J. Platt sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.83, for a total value of $1,017,450.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 186,470 shares in the company, valued at $12,648,260.10. The trade was a 7.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Stephen R. Palmer sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.53, for a total transaction of $342,650.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 144,934 shares in the company, valued at $9,932,327.02. This trade represents a 3.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 396,962 shares of company stock worth $28,525,088. Corporate insiders own 15.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Carvana in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Carvana during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Carvana during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new stake in Carvana during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in Carvana by 112.5% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. 56.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Carvana

Carvana Co is an online-only retailer of used vehicles that operates a consumer-facing e-commerce platform for buying and selling cars. The company markets and sells inspected, reconditioned pre-owned vehicles through its website, where shoppers can browse inventory, view detailed 360-degree photos and vehicle history reports, finance purchases, and arrange delivery or pickup. Carvana’s model is built around a digital end-to-end car buying experience that aims to simplify vehicle transactions compared with traditional dealerships.

Its products and services include direct retail sales of used cars, trade-in and purchase offers for consumer vehicles, vehicle financing and related protection products, and a seven-day return policy that allows customers to test a vehicle in everyday use.