CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) Given New $44.00 Price Target at Needham & Company LLC

Key Points

• CarGurus' stock price target has been increased from $39.00 to $44.00 by Needham & Company LLC, suggesting a potential upside of 48.17% from its current price.
• Multiple brokerages have provided varying ratings on CarGurus, with seven analysts giving it a hold rating and six a buy rating, reflecting uncertainty in the stock's performance.
• CarGurus reported $234.03 million in revenue and $0.57 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, and indicated a 7.0% year-over-year revenue growth.

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $39.00 to $44.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's price target would suggest a potential upside of 48.17% from the stock's current price.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on CARG. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of CarGurus in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Citizens Jmp lowered shares of CarGurus from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on CarGurus from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on CarGurus from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Gordon Haskett assumed coverage on CarGurus in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $38.04.

CarGurus Stock Performance

Shares of CarGurus stock opened at $29.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 84.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.42. CarGurus has a 1 year low of $21.65 and a 1 year high of $41.33. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $32.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.29.

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.03. CarGurus had a return on equity of 32.54% and a net margin of 4.28%. The company had revenue of $234.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $232.29 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that CarGurus will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ismail Elshareef sold 5,246 shares of CarGurus stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.37, for a total value of $164,567.02. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 107,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,356,809.59. This trade represents a 4.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Samuel Zales sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.88, for a total value of $338,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 461,821 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,646,495.48. This trade represents a 2.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,049 shares of company stock worth $1,616,397. Corporate insiders own 16.99% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of CarGurus

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CARG. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in CarGurus by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 47,145 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,723,000 after purchasing an additional 5,389 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in CarGurus by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 221,857 shares of the company's stock worth $8,107,000 after buying an additional 25,157 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in CarGurus by 41.5% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 36,206 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,323,000 after acquiring an additional 10,614 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in CarGurus by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 104,660 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,825,000 after acquiring an additional 18,989 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in CarGurus by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 20,252 shares of the company's stock worth $740,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317 shares in the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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