OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of OPENLANE in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of OPENLANE from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, OPENLANE has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

OPENLANE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KAR opened at $20.52 on Monday. OPENLANE has a 52-week low of $12.86 and a 52-week high of $20.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $17.90 and a 200 day moving average of $17.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of 78.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.53.

OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The specialty retailer reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.04. OPENLANE had a net margin of 4.26% and a return on equity of 8.67%. The company had revenue of $448.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $431.68 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.18 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that OPENLANE will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Brad S. Lakhia acquired 4,985 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $20.06 per share, with a total value of $99,999.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 14,303 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,918.18. The trade was a 53.50 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.32% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OPENLANE

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KAR. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of OPENLANE by 175.5% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,598 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,018 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of OPENLANE by 201.4% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,375 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,587 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of OPENLANE during the 2nd quarter valued at $81,000. Creative Planning bought a new stake in shares of OPENLANE during the 3rd quarter valued at $193,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in OPENLANE in the 2nd quarter valued at $204,000. 99.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

OPENLANE Company Profile

OPENLANE, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital marketplace for used vehicles, which connects sellers and buyers in North America, Europe, the Philippines, and Uruguay. The company operates through two segments, Marketplace and Finance. The Marketplace segment offers digital marketplace services for buying and selling used vehicles.