CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG) Receives $39.55 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the ten research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $39.55.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of CarGurus in a research report on Monday, December 16th. 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. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on CarGurus from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on CarGurus from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CarGurus news, CEO Zachary Emerson Hallowell sold 2,203 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.12, for a total transaction of $83,978.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,421,271.96. This trade represents a 1.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Samuel Zales sold 10,000 shares of CarGurus stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.78, for a total transaction of $307,800.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 390,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,004,969.50. The trade was a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 61,888 shares of company stock worth $2,229,388 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 17.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in CarGurus by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 42,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in CarGurus by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of CarGurus by 82.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 937 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of CarGurus by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CarGurus by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

CarGurus Stock Performance

NASDAQ CARG opened at $30.11 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of 167.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.52. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $35.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.26. CarGurus has a 52-week low of $21.18 and a 52-week high of $41.33.

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

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.