Maverick Capital Ltd. Makes New Investment in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Key Points

• Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired 38,685 shares in AutoNation, Inc. valued at approximately $6.26 million, representing about 0.10% ownership in the company.
• Research analysts have raised their target prices for AutoNation, with Morgan Stanley increasing it from $195 to $220, and Wells Fargo from $209 to $221, reflecting a positive outlook.
• AutoNation reported quarterly earnings of $5.46 per share, exceeding estimates by $0.76, and generated revenue of $6.97 billion, a 7.6% increase from the previous year.

Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 38,685 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,264,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. owned approximately 0.10% of AutoNation as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AN. Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in AutoNation during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AutoNation by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 315 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in AutoNation by 81.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company's stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in AutoNation during the 1st quarter worth approximately $86,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in AutoNation by 56.8% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the company's stock worth $136,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on AN shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of AutoNation from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $209.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $225.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Stephens upped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoNation presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $223.25.

AutoNation Stock Performance

AN stock traded up $0.88 on Friday, hitting $226.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 437,408 shares, compared to its average volume of 331,494. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $207.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $187.66. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $148.33 and a 1 year high of $228.92. The stock has a market cap of $8.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $5.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.76. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 31.12%. The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.99 EPS. AutoNation's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About AutoNation

AutoNation, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Domestic, Import, and Premium Luxury. It offers a range of automotive products and services, including new and used vehicles; and parts and services, such as automotive repair and maintenance, and wholesale parts and collision services.