Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) Hits New 52-Week High - Here's Why

Shares of Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $299.00 and last traded at $293.00, with a volume of 5883877 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $279.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CVNA. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Carvana from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Bank of America upped their price target on Carvana from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Carvana in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Carvana from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $340.00 price objective on shares of Carvana in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $269.18.

Carvana Trading Up 1.3%

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $220.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $230.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 3.64. The stock has a market cap of $65.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 193.65 and a beta of 3.61.

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.76. The company had revenue of $4.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.94 billion. Carvana had a return on equity of 36.59% and a net margin of 1.54%. The business's revenue was up 38.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.23 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Carvana Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Carvana

In other Carvana news, CFO Mark W. Jenkins sold 28,422 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.85, for a total transaction of $8,209,694.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 219,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,536,023.70. This trade represents a 11.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Benjamin E. Huston sold 26,753 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $8,025,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 149,294 shares in the company, valued at $44,788,200. The trade was a 15.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 618,735 shares of company stock valued at $153,823,367 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 17.12% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carvana

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Carvana by 13.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,950,011 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,125,749,000 after buying an additional 1,823,218 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Carvana by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,534,843 shares of the company's stock worth $2,620,785,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109,476 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Carvana in the 4th quarter worth about $179,364,000. Castle Hook Partners LP purchased a new position in Carvana in the 4th quarter worth approximately $116,020,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Carvana by 89.8% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,018,321 shares of the company's stock valued at $207,086,000 after buying an additional 481,912 shares during the period. 56.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Carvana

Carvana Co, together with its subsidiaries, operates an e-commerce platform for buying and selling used cars in the United States. Its platform allows customers to research and identify a vehicle; inspect it using company's 360-degree vehicle imaging technology; obtain financing and warranty coverage; purchase the vehicle; and schedule delivery or pick-up from their desktop or mobile devices.