Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) Trading Up 10.6% Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Shares jumped 10.6% intraday after BTIG raised its price target to $14 and maintained a "buy" rating, with the stock trading as high as $12.54 on roughly 1.13M shares (prior close $11.19).
• Cars.com's Q1 results showed revenue roughly in line with guidance (~$180M), a return to positive net income ($5.0M), adjusted EBITDA of $51.0M and a 28.3% adjusted EBITDA margin, and management raised the 2026 share‑repurchase target to $90M after repurchasing $33M year-to-date.
• Analyst coverage is mixed—four Buys, three Holds and one Sell—leaving a MarketBeat consensus of Hold with an average target of $16.17; the company has a market cap of about $711M and a PE near 38x.

Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS - Get Free Report) shares were up 10.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday after BTIG Research raised their price target on the stock from $13.00 to $14.00. BTIG Research currently has a buy rating on the stock. Cars.com traded as high as $12.54 and last traded at $12.38. Approximately 1,128,266 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 7% from the average daily volume of 1,219,235 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.19.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $10.00 price target (down from $16.00) on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Zacks Research raised Cars.com from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered Cars.com from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Cars.com in a report on Monday, April 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $16.17.

Cars.com News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Cars.com this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BTIG Research raised its price target on CARS to $14.00 and initiated/maintained a "buy" rating, implying meaningful upside from current levels. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Cars.com's Q1 press release showed revenue roughly in line with guidance ($180.2M, +1% YoY), conversion to positive net income ($5.0M vs a loss a year ago), adjusted EBITDA of $51.0M and a stronger-than-expected adjusted EBITDA margin (28.3%). Management also boosted the 2026 share-repurchase target to $90M after buying back $33M through April 30 — a clear capital-return signal. PR Newswire
• Neutral Sentiment: Company updated Q2 2026 revenue guidance to a range ($178.7M–$182.3M) that sits roughly around consensus (~$180.8M), suggesting limited near-term revenue upside but steady outlook. Earnings Transcript/Guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Market coverage and summaries (Yahoo!/Zacks/Seeking Alpha) are running multiple takes — from "in line" earnings to deeper metric analysis — keeping analyst focus on margins, bookings and retention metrics rather than a clear consensus upgrade/downgrade wave. Yahoo! Snapshot
• Negative Sentiment: Reported EPS of $0.45 missed the Zacks/consensus estimate (~$0.48) — a modest earnings miss that some outlets highlight and that may cap upside until execution on revenue mix and margin levers is clearer. Zacks

Institutional Trading of Cars.com

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Cars.com by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,025 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 1,623 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Cars.com by 436.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,960 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 6,475 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in Cars.com in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $100,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Cars.com in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $115,000. Finally, AXA S.A. bought a new position in Cars.com in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $126,000. 89.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cars.com Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $711.22 million, a PE ratio of 38.16 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $9.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.81.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.12). Cars.com had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 2.77%.The company had revenue of $183.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $183.44 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Cars.com Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Cars.com

Cars.com operates as a leading online automotive marketplace in the United States, connecting car shoppers with new and used vehicle listings from dealerships and private sellers. The platform enables consumers to research makes and models, compare prices, read expert and user reviews, and access tools such as TrueCost to estimate ownership expenses over time. Through its website and mobile applications, Cars.com aims to simplify the car-buying process by aggregating detailed vehicle data, payment calculators, and dealership ratings into a single user-friendly experience.

On the dealer side, Cars.com provides a suite of marketing and lead-generation services designed to help automotive retailers reach potential buyers and manage their online presence.

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