CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) Upgraded at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays upgraded CarGurus to a “strong-buy” rating, adding to a generally positive analyst backdrop. The stock now has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” with a consensus price target of $37.79.
• CarGurus rose 5.0% and opened at $30.35, still below its 12-month high of $39.42. The company has a market cap of $2.74 billion and trades with a P/E ratio of 19.97.
• The company beat quarterly earnings estimates, reporting $0.58 EPS versus $0.56 expected, while revenue grew 8.2% year over year to $243.56 million. CarGurus also issued Q2 2026 EPS guidance of 0.570 to 0.640.

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Barclays to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of CarGurus from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of CarGurus from $37.50 to $33.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CarGurus from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on CarGurus from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on CarGurus from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CarGurus presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.79.

CarGurus Trading Up 5.0%

CarGurus stock opened at $30.35 on Thursday. CarGurus has a 12 month low of $26.39 and a 12 month high of $39.42. The company has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.28. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $33.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.07.

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

Insider Activity at CarGurus

In related news, insider Jennifer Ladd Hanson sold 2,499 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.61, for a total value of $88,989.39. Following the sale, the insider owned 98,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,496,581.51. This trade represents a 2.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Stephen Kaufer bought 30,766 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $32.50 per share, with a total value of $999,895.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 323,939 shares in the company, valued at $10,528,017.50. This trade represents a 10.49% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,852 shares of company stock worth $431,053. 16.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CarGurus

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CARG. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of CarGurus by 158.2% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,537,856 shares of the company's stock worth $57,254,000 after acquiring an additional 942,199 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in CarGurus by 6.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,636,671 shares of the company's stock valued at $358,773,000 after acquiring an additional 594,670 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in CarGurus in the fourth quarter valued at about $21,756,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in CarGurus by 159,137.1% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 536,629 shares of the company's stock worth $22,787,000 after purchasing an additional 536,292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prevatt Capital Ltd boosted its position in CarGurus by 28.1% in the third quarter. Prevatt Capital Ltd now owns 2,050,000 shares of the company's stock worth $76,322,000 after purchasing an additional 450,000 shares during the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About CarGurus

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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