CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Freedom Capital

Freedom Capital upgraded shares of CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays initiated coverage on CarGurus in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on CarGurus from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on CarGurus from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded CarGurus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on CarGurus from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.79.

CarGurus Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of CARG opened at $27.17 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 17.88, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.20. CarGurus has a 12 month low of $26.39 and a 12 month high of $39.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $32.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.55.

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $243.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $243.10 million. CarGurus had a return on equity of 54.42% and a net margin of 15.57%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. CarGurus has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.570-0.640 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that CarGurus will post 2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Dafna Sarnoff sold 5,445 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.04, for a total value of $179,902.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 134,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,439,551.76. The trade was a 3.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Matthew Todd Quinn sold 4,341 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.04, for a total value of $143,426.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 246,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,131,077.92. The trade was a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 20,924 shares of company stock valued at $669,419 over the last 90 days. 16.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of CarGurus

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in CarGurus by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 545,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,314,000 after buying an additional 82,511 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in CarGurus by 230.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 580,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,598,000 after buying an additional 404,617 shares in the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel bought a new stake in CarGurus in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,174,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in CarGurus by 100.3% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 102,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,828,000 after buying an additional 51,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in CarGurus by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,958,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,095,000 after buying an additional 54,937 shares in the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About CarGurus

CarGurus, Inc operates an online automotive marketplace designed to connect buyers and sellers of new and used vehicles. Through its proprietary search engine and data-driven pricing tools, the platform enables consumers to compare listings, assess fair market values and locate local dealers offering competitive deals. CarGurus also provides detailed vehicle history reports, dealer reviews and financing options to streamline the car-shopping process for both private parties and franchised dealerships.

The company’s core product offerings include Instant Market Value (IMV), which leverages pricing algorithms to help buyers identify over- or under-priced vehicles, as well as dealer subscription services that grant automotive retailers access to lead generation tools, targeted advertising and dynamic pricing insights.