OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on KAR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of OPENLANE from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of OPENLANE in a report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

OPENLANE Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE KAR opened at $20.50 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.85, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.53. The business’s 50 day moving average is $18.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.58. OPENLANE has a 12-month low of $12.86 and a 12-month high of $20.85.

OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The specialty retailer reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.04. OPENLANE had a return on equity of 8.67% and a net margin of 4.26%. The firm had revenue of $448.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $431.68 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.18 earnings per share. OPENLANE’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that OPENLANE will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at OPENLANE

In related news, CFO Brad S. Lakhia purchased 4,985 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $20.06 per share, with a total value of $99,999.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,918.18. This represents a 53.50 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of OPENLANE

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KAR. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in OPENLANE by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 8,921,967 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $148,015,000 after purchasing an additional 146,266 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of OPENLANE by 0.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,143,903 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $118,517,000 after buying an additional 50,773 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of OPENLANE by 15.3% during the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 5,045,087 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $85,161,000 after buying an additional 671,104 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in OPENLANE by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,475,741 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $41,799,000 after acquiring an additional 35,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in OPENLANE by 0.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,759,952 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $29,708,000 after acquiring an additional 6,469 shares during the last quarter. 99.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About OPENLANE

OPENLANE, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital marketplace for used vehicles, which connects sellers and buyers in North America, Europe, the Philippines, and Uruguay. The company operates through two segments, Marketplace and Finance. The Marketplace segment offers digital marketplace services for buying and selling used vehicles.