Cars.com Inc. $CARS is Pale Fire Capital SE’s 10th Largest Position

Pale Fire Capital SE lifted its position in Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) by 1.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,008,218 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 51,600 shares during the period. Cars.com makes up about 1.2% of Pale Fire Capital SE’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Pale Fire Capital SE owned approximately 0.07% of Cars.com worth $43,850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CARS. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Cars.com during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Cars.com by 30.0% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 1,623 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Cars.com by 436.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 6,475 shares during the period. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Cars.com during the 3rd quarter worth $100,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Cars.com during the second quarter valued at approximately $115,000. 89.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on CARS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Cars.com from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Cars.com from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on Cars.com from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Cars.com from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Sonia Jain sold 34,021 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.49, for a total value of $322,859.29. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 312,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Angelique Strong Marks sold 57,980 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.94, for a total value of $692,281.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 149,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,786,653.84. The trade was a 27.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 152,580 shares of company stock valued at $1,615,796. Insiders own 3.36% of the company’s stock.

Cars.com Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CARS opened at $12.01 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $11.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.39. Cars.com Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.40 and a 52 week high of $13.97. The stock has a market cap of $642.79 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.51. The business had revenue of $179.93 million for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cars.com Inc. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.