Thames Capital Management LLC Takes Position in CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG)

Thames Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 76,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,783,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CARG. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of CarGurus by 198.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in CarGurus by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 912 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in CarGurus during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in CarGurus by 155.8% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 913 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at CarGurus

In other news, COO Samuel Zales sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.78, for a total transaction of $307,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,004,969.50. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,421,271.96. This represents a 1.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,203 shares of company stock valued at $1,158,978 over the last three months. 17.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CarGurus Stock Performance

CarGurus stock opened at $26.29 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 146.06, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.46. CarGurus, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.33. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $33.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.28.

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) last announced its 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). The business had revenue of $228.54 million during 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that CarGurus, Inc. will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CARG. 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 report on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded CarGurus from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of CarGurus in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of CarGurus in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CarGurus has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.75.

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.