Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) Trading Up 12.7% – Here’s Why

Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) shares rose 12.7% on Friday . The company traded as high as $13.21 and last traded at $13.2320. 181,039 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 1,037,803 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.74.

More Cars.com News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong earnings quality and profitability: Second-quarter revenue rose approximately 1% year over year to $179.9 million, while net income more than doubled to $14.3 million. Adjusted EBITDA increased 4% to $53.0 million, producing a 29.4% margin that exceeded the company’s 28%-29% target range. Adjusted EPS of $0.51 also surpassed the $0.49 Zacks consensus estimate and increased from $0.41 a year earlier. Cars.com Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns support the stock: Cars.com repurchased 3.7 million shares for $37 million during the quarter and 6.2 million shares for $57 million year to date, putting it on pace for its $90 million 2026 repurchase goal. The buybacks can support per-share results and signal management’s confidence in the company’s valuation. Cars.com Q2 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains favorable: BTIG Research reaffirmed its “Buy” rating and assigned a $14 price target, implying roughly 14% upside from the referenced $12.32 level. BTIG Reaffirms Buy Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Guidance was broadly maintained: Full-year revenue guidance remains $723.2 million-$737.7 million, versus a $729.0 million consensus estimate. Third-quarter revenue guidance of $183.9 million-$187.6 million is modestly above the $183.0 million consensus, but the outlook still calls for only flat-to-2% growth. Cars.com Q2 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Platform-exit concerns could pressure growth: A Seeking Alpha analysis argues that consumers and dealers are leaving Cars.com, raising questions about traffic, customer retention and the durability of Marketplace growth. In addition, OEM and National revenue fell 18% year over year, partially offsetting more than 7% growth in Marketplace revenue. Cars.com Consumers and Dealers Analysis

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on CARS shares. B. Riley Financial cut Cars.com from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 8th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings raised Cars.com from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Cars.com in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Cars.com from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cars.com presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.83.

Cars.com Trading Up 5.0%

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $10.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The stock has a market cap of $688.95 million, a P/E ratio of 21.62 and a beta of 1.60.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.51. The company had revenue of $179.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.53 million. Cars.com had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 18.82%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cars.com Inc. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Cars.com

In other news, CFO Sonia Jain sold 34,021 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.49, for a total value of $322,859.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 312,833 shares in the company, valued at $2,968,785.17. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 3.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cars.com

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Cars.com by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 1,623 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 436.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 6,475 shares during the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cars.com in the third quarter worth approximately $100,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Cars.com during the second quarter valued at approximately $115,000. Finally, AXA S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Cars.com during the second quarter valued at approximately $126,000. 89.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.