Saudi Central Bank Increases Stock Position in Carvana Co. $CVNA

Saudi Central Bank grew its holdings in shares of Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) by 806.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 45,043 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,072 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank’s holdings in Carvana were worth $2,965,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CVNA. Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new stake in Carvana during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Carvana during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Carvana by 152.6% during the 1st quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 96 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Carvana by 558.0% during the second quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 454 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Carvana during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 56.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Carvana Trading Up 0.1%

Carvana stock opened at $74.65 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.33, a current ratio of 3.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $69.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.29, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 3.49. Carvana Co. has a 52-week low of $54.46 and a 52-week high of $97.38.

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.03. Carvana had a return on equity of 37.06% and a net margin of 6.26%.The company had revenue of $7.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 52.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.51 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Carvana Co. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CVNA. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Carvana in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. DA Davidson set a $67.00 price target on Carvana in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on Carvana from $86.00 to $69.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research lowered Carvana from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Evercore set a $75.00 price objective on Carvana in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.14.

Insider Activity at Carvana

In other news, CFO Mark W. Jenkins sold 63,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.55, for a total transaction of $4,561,312.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,149,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,248,012.90. This represents a 5.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Ira J. Platt sold 15,000 shares of Carvana stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.50, for a total transaction of $1,132,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 186,470 shares in the company, valued at $14,078,485. This trade represents a 7.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 415,300 shares of company stock worth $28,538,788. Insiders own 15.19% of the company’s stock.

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.