CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) Hits New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after Citigroup upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $37.94 and last traded at $37.71, with a volume of 752002 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.51.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on CARG. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on CarGurus from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on CarGurus from $32.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on CarGurus from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on CarGurus from $27.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price target on CarGurus from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CarGurus currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Samuel Zales sold 25,168 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.34, for a total value of $713,261.12. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 480,583 shares in the company, valued at $13,619,722.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CMO Dafna Sarnoff sold 4,127 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.94, for a total value of $123,562.38. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 119,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,572,740.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Samuel Zales sold 25,168 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.34, for a total value of $713,261.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 480,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,619,722.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 61,065 shares of company stock worth $1,823,794 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 17.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CARG. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in shares of CarGurus during the 3rd quarter worth $21,052,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of CarGurus by 3,512.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 480,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,585,000 after purchasing an additional 467,042 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of CarGurus by 629.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 372,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,183,000 after purchasing an additional 321,318 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its stake in shares of CarGurus by 26.5% during the 2nd quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 1,090,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,567,000 after purchasing an additional 228,380 shares during the period. Finally, SG Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of CarGurus during the 1st quarter worth $4,222,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

CarGurus Trading Down 2.5 %

The company has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a PE ratio of -79.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.55. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.20.

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.