OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) Upgraded by Stephens to Overweight Rating

Stephens upgraded shares of OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has $26.00 price objective on the specialty retailer’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $20.00.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded OPENLANE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on OPENLANE from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of OPENLANE in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, OPENLANE has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.80.

OPENLANE Trading Up 4.8 %

KAR stock opened at $22.34 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.52. OPENLANE has a 12 month low of $15.13 and a 12 month high of $22.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $20.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.68.

OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $455.00 million during 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that OPENLANE will post 0.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OPENLANE

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