OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded OPENLANE from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $23.00 to $20.00 in a report on Thursday. Stephens raised shares of OPENLANE from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $20.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of OPENLANE in a report on Friday, February 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, OPENLANE presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.20.

OPENLANE Stock Down 7.7 %

Shares of NYSE KAR opened at $19.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a PE ratio of 36.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.53. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.21. OPENLANE has a 12-month low of $15.44 and a 12-month high of $22.47.

OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $455.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.64 million. OPENLANE had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 9.20%. On average, equities analysts predict that OPENLANE will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On OPENLANE

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in OPENLANE during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in OPENLANE by 414.6% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,182 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,758 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in OPENLANE by 435.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 2,062 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in OPENLANE in the 4th quarter valued at about $68,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in OPENLANE by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,314 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 1,798 shares during the last quarter. 99.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About OPENLANE

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.