Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) Trading Down 18.1% on Insider Selling

Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) dropped 18.1% during trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $190.60 and last traded at $185.41. Approximately 2,312,933 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 3,923,042 shares. The stock had previously closed at $226.32.

Specifically, COO Benjamin E. Huston sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.32, for a total transaction of $10,366,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 128,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,561,009.12. The trade was a 28.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark W. Jenkins sold 43,433 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.27, for a total value of $9,089,223.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 214,678 shares in the company, valued at $44,925,665.06. The trade was a 16.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Carvana from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Carvana from $277.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $340.00 price objective on shares of Carvana in a report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Carvana from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Carvana from $270.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $261.53.

Carvana Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 3.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82. The company has a market capitalization of $39.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 117.85 and a beta of 3.56. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $226.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $219.11.

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.27. Carvana had a net margin of 1.54% and a return on equity of 36.59%. The firm had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Carvana Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Carvana by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 462,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,148,000 after purchasing an additional 39,089 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in Carvana by 135.5% during the 4th quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 5,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,062,000 after buying an additional 2,994 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC grew its holdings in Carvana by 115.9% during the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock worth $658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,738 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Carvana by 37.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 478,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,305,000 after acquiring an additional 130,942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Carvana by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 382,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,807,000 after purchasing an additional 95,497 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.71% of the company’s stock.

About Carvana

Carvana Co, together with its subsidiaries, operates an e-commerce platform for buying and selling used cars in the United States. Its platform allows customers to research and identify a vehicle; inspect it using company's 360-degree vehicle imaging technology; obtain financing and warranty coverage; purchase the vehicle; and schedule delivery or pick-up from their desktop or mobile devices.