CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• CarGurus received a “Moderate Buy” consensus from 16 analysts, with eight holds, seven buys and one strong buy. The average 1-year price target is about $37.79.
• Recent analyst actions were mixed but generally constructive, including new buy/overweight ratings from Citigroup and Barclays, while Needham raised its target to $43 and RBC lifted its target to $35.
• The company posted a solid earnings beat, reporting $0.58 EPS versus the $0.56 consensus and 8.2% revenue growth year over year. Shares opened at $27.17, near the stock’s 1-year low of $26.39.

Shares of CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.7917.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CARG shares. Citigroup started coverage on shares of CarGurus in a research note on Friday. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Barclays started coverage on shares of CarGurus in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CarGurus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of CarGurus from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of CarGurus from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Matthew Todd Quinn sold 4,341 shares of CarGurus stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.04, for a total transaction of $143,426.64. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 246,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,131,077.92. The trade was a 1.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Dafna Sarnoff sold 5,445 shares of CarGurus stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.04, for a total transaction of $179,902.80. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 134,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,439,551.76. The trade was a 3.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 20,924 shares of company stock worth $669,419 in the last 90 days. 16.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of CarGurus

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of CarGurus by 26.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 586,346 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,965,000 after buying an additional 123,364 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of CarGurus by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 229,225 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,805,000 after buying an additional 17,139 shares during the period. Smith Group Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in CarGurus by 68.6% in the 1st quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 16,980 shares of the company's stock valued at $578,000 after purchasing an additional 6,906 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in CarGurus by 28.3% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,778 shares of the company's stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in CarGurus by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 100,792 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,432,000 after purchasing an additional 21,401 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company's stock.

CarGurus Price Performance

CARG opened at $27.17 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $32.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.55. CarGurus has a 1-year low of $26.39 and a 1-year high of $39.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.20.

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. CarGurus had a net margin of 15.57% and a return on equity of 54.42%. The business had revenue of $243.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.10 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. The business's revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. CarGurus has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.570-0.640 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CarGurus will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CarGurus Company Profile

CarGurus, Inc operates an online automotive marketplace designed to connect buyers and sellers of new and used vehicles. Through its proprietary search engine and data-driven pricing tools, the platform enables consumers to compare listings, assess fair market values and locate local dealers offering competitive deals. CarGurus also provides detailed vehicle history reports, dealer reviews and financing options to streamline the car-shopping process for both private parties and franchised dealerships.

The company's core product offerings include Instant Market Value (IMV), which leverages pricing algorithms to help buyers identify over- or under-priced vehicles, as well as dealer subscription services that grant automotive retailers access to lead generation tools, targeted advertising and dynamic pricing insights.

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