CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $38.59.

CARG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on CarGurus from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on CarGurus from $26.50 to $38.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on CarGurus from $30.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of CarGurus in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup raised CarGurus from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th.

CarGurus Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CARG opened at $31.15 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $37.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of 173.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.59. CarGurus has a 1 year low of $21.18 and a 1 year high of $41.33.

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $228.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.72 million. CarGurus had a return on equity of 27.14% and a net margin of 2.34%. As a group, analysts expect that CarGurus will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at CarGurus

In related news, CMO Dafna Sarnoff sold 10,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.78, for a total value of $378,194.60. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 95,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,408,438.58. The trade was a 9.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Samuel Zales sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total value of $767,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 400,025 shares in the company, valued at $15,344,959. This represents a 4.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 59,388 shares of company stock worth $2,204,338. 17.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CarGurus

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning increased its holdings in CarGurus by 152.3% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 15,328 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in CarGurus by 81.3% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in CarGurus by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in CarGurus by 629.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 372,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,183,000 after purchasing an additional 321,318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in CarGurus by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 42,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,267,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

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.