CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

Key Points

• UBS Group has raised its target price for CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) from $33.00 to $36.00, indicating a potential upside of 20.81% from the stock's previous close.
• CarGurus reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.57, beating expectations and showing a 7.0% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• Several brokerages have mixed ratings on CarGurus, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price averaging $38.29.

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by UBS Group from $33.00 to $36.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. UBS Group's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 23.67% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on CARG. Gordon Haskett initiated coverage on CarGurus in a report on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on CarGurus from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Citizens Jmp downgraded CarGurus from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $38.00 price objective on shares of CarGurus in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of CarGurus in a report on Monday, May 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $38.29.

CarGurus Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CARG traded down $2.30 during trading on Friday, reaching $29.11. The stock had a trading volume of 2,008,030 shares, compared to its average volume of 869,865. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $32.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.18. The stock has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.67, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.42. CarGurus has a 1-year low of $24.65 and a 1-year high of $41.33.

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.03. CarGurus had a return on equity of 35.47% and a net margin of 14.12%. The company had revenue of $234.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $232.29 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that CarGurus will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at CarGurus

In related news, General Counsel Javier Zamora sold 6,154 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $215,390.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 92,807 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,248,245. This represents a 6.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Samuel Zales sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 49,049 shares of company stock worth $1,616,397. Insiders own 16.99% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of CarGurus

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of CarGurus by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 47,145 shares of the company's stock worth $1,723,000 after buying an additional 5,389 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in shares of CarGurus by 12.8% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of CarGurus by 41.5% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 36,206 shares of the company's stock worth $1,323,000 after buying an additional 10,614 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of CarGurus by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 104,660 shares of the company's stock worth $3,825,000 after buying an additional 18,989 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of CarGurus by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 20,252 shares of the company's stock worth $740,000 after buying an additional 1,317 shares in the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.