CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) Lowered to Neutral Rating by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research report released on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $34.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $42.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of CarGurus from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of CarGurus in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of CarGurus in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CarGurus currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.75.

CarGurus Stock Performance

CARG opened at $29.72 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $35.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 165.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.52. CarGurus has a 52 week low of $21.18 and a 52 week high of $41.33.

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.06). CarGurus had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 27.14%. The business had revenue of $228.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $231.72 million. Equities analysts forecast that CarGurus will post 1.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at CarGurus

In related news, CTO Matthew Todd Quinn sold 4,678 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.78, for a total value of $167,378.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 195,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,005,545.10. This trade represents a 2.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Samuel Zales sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.78, for a total value of $307,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,004,969.50. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 61,888 shares of company stock worth $2,229,388 over the last ninety days. 17.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CARG. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in CarGurus by 198.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of CarGurus by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of CarGurus during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CarGurus by 82.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 937 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the period. Finally, USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in CarGurus in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.