CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $37.59, but opened at $32.30. CarGurus shares last traded at $30.52, with a volume of 431,793 shares trading hands.

The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.06). CarGurus had a positive return on equity of 13.96% and a negative net margin of 5.47%. The company had revenue of $228.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $231.72 million.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CARG. B. Riley lifted their price objective on shares of CarGurus from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of CarGurus in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of CarGurus from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup upgraded shares of CarGurus from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of CarGurus from $26.50 to $38.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at CarGurus

In other news, CEO Zachary Emerson Hallowell sold 4,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.78, for a total transaction of $163,872.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 120,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,295,424.78. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Samuel Zales sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.70, for a total transaction of $282,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 434,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,392,751.70. This trade represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,388 shares of company stock worth $2,204,338 over the last three months. Company insiders own 17.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CarGurus

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CARG. Creative Planning raised its stake in CarGurus by 152.3% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $762,000 after buying an additional 15,328 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in CarGurus by 81.3% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 959 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in CarGurus by 5.0% in the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in CarGurus by 629.3% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 372,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,183,000 after purchasing an additional 321,318 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in CarGurus by 6.8% in the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 42,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,267,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares during the period. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CarGurus Stock Down 17.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of -67.72, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.59. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.67.

CarGurus Company Profile

CarGurus, Inc operates an online automotive platform for buying and selling vehicles in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, U.S. Marketplace and Digital Wholesale. The company provides an online automotive marketplace where customers can search for new and used car listings from its dealers and sell their car to dealers and other consumers; and paid listings subscriptions for enhanced access to its marketplace that connects dealers to a large audience of informed and engaged consumers.