CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $40.2273.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CarGurus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of CarGurus from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of CarGurus in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded CarGurus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on CarGurus from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th.

CarGurus Stock Performance

NASDAQ CARG opened at $28.61 on Monday. CarGurus has a twelve month low of $24.65 and a twelve month high of $40.37. The stock has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.16.

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.02. CarGurus had a return on equity of 41.31% and a net margin of 16.41%.The firm had revenue of $238.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $234.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that CarGurus will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at CarGurus

In other news, CEO Jason Trevisan sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.00, for a total transaction of $740,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 655,483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,252,871. This trade represents a 2.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ismail Elshareef sold 1,645 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.21, for a total value of $52,985.45. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 91,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,957,586.62. This represents a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 49,003 shares of company stock valued at $1,858,494. 17.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of CarGurus

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Horizon Investments LLC raised its position in CarGurus by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 16,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $628,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of CarGurus by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of CarGurus by 4.3% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of CarGurus by 8.7% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of CarGurus by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 15,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $613,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares during the period. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About CarGurus

CarGurus, Inc operates an online automotive marketplace designed to connect buyers and sellers of new and used vehicles. Through its proprietary search engine and data-driven pricing tools, the platform enables consumers to compare listings, assess fair market values and locate local dealers offering competitive deals. CarGurus also provides detailed vehicle history reports, dealer reviews and financing options to streamline the car-shopping process for both private parties and franchised dealerships.

The company’s core product offerings include Instant Market Value (IMV), which leverages pricing algorithms to help buyers identify over- or under-priced vehicles, as well as dealer subscription services that grant automotive retailers access to lead generation tools, targeted advertising and dynamic pricing insights.