Carvana Co. $CVNA Shares Acquired by Saudi Central Bank

Key Points

• Saudi Central Bank increased its Carvana position by 806.1% in the second quarter, ending with 45,043 shares valued at approximately $2.97 million. Institutional investors collectively own 56.71% of the company.
• Carvana insiders have been net sellers recently: the COO sold 50,000 shares, while a director purchased 25,000 shares. Insiders sold 415,300 shares worth $28.5 million over the last quarter.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an $84.14 price target. Carvana’s latest quarterly results beat estimates, including $7.38 billion in revenue—up 52.4% year over year—and $0.42 in earnings per share.

Saudi Central Bank lifted its position in Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA - Free Report) by 806.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,043 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 40,072 shares during the quarter. Saudi Central Bank's holdings in Carvana were worth $2,965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Carvana by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,726,838 shares of the company's stock worth $7,481,081,000 after acquiring an additional 1,407,762 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Carvana by 93.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,714,779 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,411,751,000 after purchasing an additional 2,764,759 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Carvana by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,700,953 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,405,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,711,144 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Carvana by 55.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,880,711 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,632,763,000 after buying an additional 1,382,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Carvana by 345.8% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,325,237 shares of the company's stock worth $218,867,000 after buying an additional 2,579,295 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.71% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Benjamin Huston sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total transaction of $3,225,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 535,709 shares in the company, valued at $34,553,230.50. This represents a 8.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Michael E. Maroone purchased 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $61.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,545,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 168,573 shares in the company, valued at $10,417,811.40. The trade was a 17.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 415,300 shares of company stock valued at $28,538,788. 15.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CVNA. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $87.00 target price on shares of Carvana in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings raised Carvana from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citizens Jmp dropped their price objective on shares of Carvana from $103.00 to $83.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Carvana and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Carvana from $94.00 to $93.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $84.14.

Carvana Stock Performance

Shares of CVNA stock opened at $74.65 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $69.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a current ratio of 3.93. The stock has a market cap of $82.15 billion, a PE ratio of 41.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 3.49. Carvana Co. has a 1 year low of $54.46 and a 1 year high of $97.38.

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.03. Carvana had a net margin of 6.26% and a return on equity of 37.06%. The firm had revenue of $7.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.51 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 52.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Carvana Co. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Carvana

Carvana Co is an online-only retailer of used vehicles that operates a consumer-facing e-commerce platform for buying and selling cars. The company markets and sells inspected, reconditioned pre-owned vehicles through its website, where shoppers can browse inventory, view detailed 360-degree photos and vehicle history reports, finance purchases, and arrange delivery or pickup. Carvana's model is built around a digital end-to-end car buying experience that aims to simplify vehicle transactions compared with traditional dealerships.

Its products and services include direct retail sales of used cars, trade-in and purchase offers for consumer vehicles, vehicle financing and related protection products, and a seven-day return policy that allows customers to test a vehicle in everyday use.

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