CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate CarGurus a “Moderate Buy,” with seven buy ratings, seven holds, and one strong-buy rating. The average 12-month price target is $40.75, above the stock’s reported price of $33.17.
• CarGurus exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.66 in EPS versus the $0.61 consensus estimate and $250.97 million in revenue, up 7.2% year over year. The company guided for third-quarter 2026 EPS of $0.63–$0.69.
• Insiders sold 71,943 shares worth approximately $2.58 million over the past three months, while institutional investors own a substantial 86.90% of outstanding shares.

Shares of CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $40.75.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CARG. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on CarGurus from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded CarGurus from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen raised CarGurus from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on CarGurus from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on CarGurus from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th.

Insider Buying and Selling at CarGurus

In other CarGurus news, CEO Jason Trevisan sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.06, for a total transaction of $45,166.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 674,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,705,727.72. This trade represents a 0.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Greg Schwartz sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.07, for a total transaction of $360,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,716 shares in the company, valued at $314,386.12. This trade represents a 53.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 71,943 shares of company stock worth $2,584,936. Company insiders own 18.19% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CarGurus

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CarGurus in the fourth quarter valued at about $21,756,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of CarGurus during the second quarter valued at approximately $15,631,000. Pale Fire Capital SE purchased a new stake in shares of CarGurus during the second quarter valued at approximately $13,112,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in CarGurus by 180.8% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 445,868 shares of the company's stock worth $15,182,000 after acquiring an additional 287,067 shares during the period. Finally, Prevatt Capital Ltd grew its stake in CarGurus by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Prevatt Capital Ltd now owns 2,475,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,274,000 after purchasing an additional 275,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.90% of the company's stock.

CarGurus Price Performance

CARG stock opened at $33.17 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $35.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.71. CarGurus has a fifty-two week low of $26.39 and a fifty-two week high of $41.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 18.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16.

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.05. CarGurus had a net margin of 18.06% and a return on equity of 62.88%. The business had revenue of $250.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $249.85 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.57 earnings per share. CarGurus's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. CarGurus has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.630-0.690 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that CarGurus will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About CarGurus

CarGurus, Inc operates an online automotive marketplace that connects consumers with automobile dealers and private sellers. Its platform enables shoppers to search for new and used vehicles, compare listings, evaluate pricing and vehicle details, and contact sellers. CarGurus generates revenue primarily by providing dealers with digital advertising and marketing products designed to help them display inventory and reach prospective buyers.

The company also provides tools and services intended to support automotive retailers throughout the vehicle-shopping process, including inventory merchandising, lead generation, pricing insights and digital retail capabilities.

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