Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) Short Interest Up 7.7% in January

Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,400,000 shares, a growth of 7.7% from the December 31st total of 12,440,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,270,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Insider Transactions at Carvana

In other news, insider Ryan S. Keeton sold 24,845 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.90, for a total transaction of $6,159,075.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 151,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,440,089.10. This represents a 14.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel J. Gill sold 44,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.47, for a total value of $11,416,680.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 191,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,617,150.75. This trade represents a 18.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 133,845 shares of company stock valued at $33,077,056 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 17.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CVNA. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Carvana by 158.3% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,437,000 after acquiring an additional 6,843 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Carvana by 34.4% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,969,000 after buying an additional 3,913 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Carvana by 804.0% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,739,000 after buying an additional 8,884 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Carvana by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,771,000 after purchasing an additional 3,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Carvana by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 608 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CVNA shares. Citigroup upgraded Carvana from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Carvana in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised Carvana from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $270.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Carvana in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Carvana from $160.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $244.88.

Carvana Trading Up 2.0 %

Carvana stock traded up $4.95 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $256.58. 352,645 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,037,597. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $230.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $195.56. The company has a current ratio of 3.25, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.99. The firm has a market cap of $53.27 billion, a PE ratio of 25,683.88 and a beta of 3.37. Carvana has a 12-month low of $41.75 and a 12-month high of $268.34.

About Carvana

Carvana Co, together with its subsidiaries, operates an e-commerce platform for buying and selling used cars in the United States. Its platform allows customers to research and identify a vehicle; inspect it using company's 360-degree vehicle imaging technology; obtain financing and warranty coverage; purchase the vehicle; and schedule delivery or pick-up from their desktop or mobile devices.