StockNews.com Downgrades OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) to Hold

OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of OPENLANE in a 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, OPENLANE currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.00.

OPENLANE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KAR opened at $20.29 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $18.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.04, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.53. OPENLANE has a one year low of $12.86 and a one year high of $20.85.

OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) last issued its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $448.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $431.68 million. OPENLANE had a return on equity of 8.67% and a net margin of 4.26%. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that OPENLANE will post 0.84 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Brad S. Lakhia acquired 4,985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $20.06 per share, for a total transaction of $99,999.10. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 14,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,918.18. This trade represents a 53.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.32% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OPENLANE

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in OPENLANE by 175.5% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,598 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of OPENLANE by 201.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,375 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,587 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of OPENLANE in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $81,000. Creative Planning bought a new position in OPENLANE during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $193,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC bought a new position in OPENLANE during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $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.