Brokerages Set CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG) Price Target at $39.55

CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $38.75.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of CarGurus from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of CarGurus in a research report on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of CarGurus from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of CarGurus in a research note on Friday, February 21st.

CarGurus Stock Performance

CARG opened at $29.72 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 165.12, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a 50-day moving average of $35.13 and a 200-day moving average of $34.26. CarGurus has a 1-year low of $21.18 and a 1-year high of $41.33.

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

Insider Activity at CarGurus

In other news, COO Samuel Zales sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total value of $767,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 400,025 shares in the company, valued at $15,344,959. This represents a 4.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Zachary Emerson Hallowell sold 2,203 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 115,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,421,271.96. This represents a 1.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 61,888 shares of company stock worth $2,229,388 over the last ninety days. 17.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CarGurus

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of CarGurus by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 42,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,553,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in CarGurus by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CarGurus by 82.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of CarGurus by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted 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 valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.