CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG) Shares Sold by Vestcor Inc

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc significantly reduced its stake in CarGurus, Inc. by 82.6%, lowering its holdings to 5,565 shares valued at $162,000.
• Insider selling was noted, with CEO Zachary Emerson Hallowell selling 4,369 shares and COO Samuel Zales selling 10,000 shares, indicating a decrease in their ownership positions.
• Several analysts have adjusted their price targets for CarGurus, with Needham & Company decreasing their price objective from $45.00 to $39.00 while maintaining a "buy" rating.

Vestcor Inc cut its stake in shares of CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG - Free Report) by 82.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,565 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,437 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc's holdings in CarGurus were worth $162,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CARG. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of CarGurus by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 47,145 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,723,000 after buying an additional 5,389 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in CarGurus by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 600,530 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,943,000 after purchasing an additional 196,697 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in CarGurus during the 4th quarter valued at $14,369,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in shares of CarGurus by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 11,048 shares of the company's stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in CarGurus in the fourth quarter worth $307,000. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CarGurus Trading Down 7.3%

Shares of NASDAQ CARG traded down $2.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $29.13. The company had a trading volume of 1,100,590 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,036,609. The stock has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.42. CarGurus, Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.65 and a 1 year high of $41.33. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $32.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.29.

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $234.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $232.29 million. CarGurus had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 32.54%. The firm's revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. Analysts predict that CarGurus, Inc. will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Samuel Zales sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.88, for a total value of $338,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 461,821 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,646,495.48. This trade represents a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Zachary Emerson Hallowell sold 1,733 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.84, for a total transaction of $58,644.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 117,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,960,802.80. This represents a 1.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,049 shares of company stock worth $1,616,397 in the last quarter. 16.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CARG shares. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of CarGurus from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of CarGurus in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Gordon Haskett began coverage on shares of CarGurus in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They set a "hold" rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of CarGurus in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of CarGurus from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $38.29.

CarGurus Company Profile

CarGurus, Inc operates an online automotive platform for buying and selling vehicles in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, U.S. Marketplace and Digital Wholesale. The company provides an online automotive marketplace where customers can search for new and used car listings from its dealers and sell their car to dealers and other consumers; and paid listings subscriptions for enhanced access to its marketplace that connects dealers to a large audience of informed and engaged consumers.