Comerica Bank Grows Holdings in OPENLANE, Inc. $KAR

Key Points

• Comerica Bank increased its stake in OPENLANE, Inc. by 37.8%, owning approximately 0.08% of the company, valued at $1.698 million, after purchasing an additional 24,144 shares.
• OPENLANE reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.33 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue increasing 11.6% year-over-year.
• Insider selling occurred as two executive vice presidents sold a combined total of 253,864 shares, significantly reducing their respective holdings in the company.

Comerica Bank grew its stake in OPENLANE, Inc. (NYSE:KAR - Free Report) by 37.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 88,086 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 24,144 shares during the period. Comerica Bank owned approximately 0.08% of OPENLANE worth $1,698,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of OPENLANE in the 1st quarter valued at $51,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of OPENLANE by 29.0% in the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,270 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of OPENLANE by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,575 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in shares of OPENLANE in the 1st quarter valued at $75,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of OPENLANE by 34.5% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,198 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.76% of the company's stock.

OPENLANE Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE KAR opened at $28.87 on Wednesday. OPENLANE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $15.44 and a 12 month high of $29.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of 39.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.76.

OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The specialty retailer reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.09. OPENLANE had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 11.65%. The business had revenue of $481.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $453.26 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that OPENLANE, Inc. will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KAR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of OPENLANE from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of OPENLANE from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of OPENLANE from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Barrington Research upped their price target on shares of OPENLANE from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $26.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at OPENLANE

In other OPENLANE news, EVP James P. Coyle sold 194,575 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.94, for a total value of $5,436,425.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 36,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,029,616.94. This represents a 84.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles S. Coleman sold 59,289 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.97, for a total transaction of $1,658,313.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 53,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,495,667.78. This trade represents a 52.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

OPENLANE Company Profile

OPENLANE, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital marketplace for used vehicles, which connects sellers and buyers in North America, Europe, the Philippines, and Uruguay. The company operates through two segments, Marketplace and Finance. The Marketplace segment offers digital marketplace services for buying and selling used vehicles.

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