CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG) Stock Rated "Moderate Buy" by Sell-Side Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts have a “Moderate Buy” consensus on CarGurus: eight of 14 rate it Buy, one Strong Buy, and five Hold. Their average one-year price target is $40.25.
• CarGurus beat quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $0.70 versus $0.66 expected and revenue of $258.37 million versus $256.46 million; revenue rose 8.2% year over year.
• Company insiders sold 72,846 shares worth about $2.44 million over the past 90 days. The cited executive sales were made under pre-arranged trading plans.

CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $40.25.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. B. Riley Financial restated a "buy" rating on shares of CarGurus in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on CarGurus from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded CarGurus from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 31st. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of CarGurus from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of CarGurus from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Dafna Sarnoff sold 17,151 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.00, for a total value of $634,587.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 109,668 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,057,716. This trade represents a 13.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Matthew Quinn sold 3,824 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.62, for a total value of $113,266.88. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 220,193 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,522,116.66. This represents a 1.71% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 72,846 shares of company stock worth $2,442,395 over the last ninety days. 18.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of CarGurus

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in CarGurus in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Gen Wealth Partners Inc bought a new stake in CarGurus during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of CarGurus during the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of CarGurus by 107.5% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 793 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in CarGurus by 59.6% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,953 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.90% of the company's stock.

CarGurus Stock Performance

CarGurus stock opened at $34.59 on Wednesday. CarGurus has a fifty-two week low of $26.39 and a fifty-two week high of $41.22. The stock has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.47, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.22. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $32.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.86.

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.04. CarGurus had a net margin of 18.51% and a return on equity of 68.43%. The business had revenue of $258.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $256.46 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. CarGurus's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that CarGurus will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

About CarGurus

CarGurus, Inc. operates an online automotive marketplace that helps consumers research and compare vehicles and connect with dealerships. Its website and mobile apps feature new and used vehicle listings, search tools, vehicle information and pricing insights designed to help shoppers evaluate available cars. The company also provides dealerships with products and services to market inventory and engage with potential buyers through its platform. CarGurus was founded in 2006 by Langley Steinert, who previously co-founded TripAdvisor, and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.