Avis Budget Group, Inc. $CAR Position Reduced by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its Avis Budget Group position by 41.5% in the first quarter, selling 223,840 shares and leaving it with 315,555 shares valued at about $46.0 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains cautious: the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” with a consensus price target of $131.50, while analysts are split between hold and sell ratings.
• Avis Budget Group reported a Q1 EPS loss of $8.01, worse than expected, even though revenue of $2.53 billion topped estimates and rose 4.1% year over year.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its position in Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR - Free Report) by 41.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 315,555 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 223,840 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.89% of Avis Budget Group worth $46,024,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CAR. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 1,845.5% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 214 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 138.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,294 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $679,000 after acquiring an additional 3,072 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 7,754 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $995,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,417 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Avis Budget Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $236,000. Institutional investors own 96.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Avis Budget Group from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays set a $160.00 price objective on Avis Budget Group and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Zacks Research raised Avis Budget Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Avis Budget Group in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Avis Budget Group in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $131.50.

Avis Budget Group Stock Down 5.8%

Shares of Avis Budget Group stock opened at $165.20 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $214.23 and its 200-day moving average is $162.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.84 billion, a PE ratio of -8.67 and a beta of 1.87. Avis Budget Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.96 and a 12-month high of $847.70.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported ($8.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($6.82) by ($1.19). The company had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned ($14.35) EPS. Analysts expect that Avis Budget Group, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avis Budget Group news, EVP Edward P. Linnen sold 9,483 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.32, for a total value of $1,728,940.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,932 shares in the company, valued at $6,915,762.24. This trade represents a 20.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Pentwater Capital Management L sold 3,347 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $438.74, for a total transaction of $1,468,462.78. Following the sale, the insider owned 6,177,100 shares in the company, valued at $2,710,140,854. This represents a 0.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 16,299 shares of company stock worth $3,836,012 over the last ninety days. 50.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Avis Budget Group Profile

Avis Budget Group, Inc operates as a leading global provider of vehicle rental and mobility solutions. Through its two core brands, Avis® and Budget®, the company offers a broad range of rental options including daily, weekly and monthly car rentals for leisure and business travelers. In addition to traditional airport and off-airport car rental services, Avis Budget Group delivers innovative mobility platforms such as car-sharing programs and connected fleet solutions designed to meet the evolving needs of corporate, government and individual customers.

The company's roots trace back to Avis Rent a Car, founded in 1946, and Budget Rent a Car, established in 1958.

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