OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Friday.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on KAR. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of OPENLANE in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of OPENLANE from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

OPENLANE Stock Performance

KAR opened at $20.18 on Friday. OPENLANE has a one year low of $12.86 and a one year high of $20.85. The stock has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $19.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.74.

OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $448.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $431.68 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that OPENLANE will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Brad S. Lakhia bought 4,985 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $20.06 per share, for a total transaction of $99,999.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,303 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,918.18. This represents a 53.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of OPENLANE

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of OPENLANE by 201.4% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,375 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,587 shares during the period. Creative Planning acquired a new stake in OPENLANE during the 3rd quarter worth about $193,000. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of OPENLANE during the 2nd quarter valued at about $204,000. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of OPENLANE during the 2nd quarter valued at about $213,000. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C acquired a new position in shares of OPENLANE in the 2nd quarter valued at about $233,000. 99.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.