CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.14.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. JMP Securities dropped their price target on CarGurus from $43.00 to $38.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of CarGurus from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of CarGurus from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of CarGurus from $36.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of CarGurus in a report on Friday, February 21st.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Zachary Emerson Hallowell sold 2,203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.12, for a total value of $83,978.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 115,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,421,271.96. This represents a 1.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Samuel Zales sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total transaction of $767,200.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 400,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,344,959. This trade represents a 4.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,203 shares of company stock valued at $1,158,978 over the last three months. Insiders own 17.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CarGurus

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in CarGurus by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 42,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in CarGurus by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in CarGurus by 82.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 937 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in CarGurus by 100.0% in the 4th 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. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of CarGurus by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

CarGurus Price Performance

NASDAQ CARG opened at $27.00 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $31.83 and its 200-day moving average is $34.12. CarGurus has a one year low of $21.18 and a one year high of $41.33. The firm has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 150.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.46.

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

About CarGurus

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.