First Trust Advisors LP Sells 38,727 Shares of Avis Budget Group, Inc. $CAR

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors cut its Avis Budget Group stake by 65.8%, selling 38,727 shares and retaining 20,170 shares valued at approximately $2.94 million. Institutional investors overall own 96.35% of CAR, with several major firms increasing their positions.
• Avis reported a quarterly earnings miss, posting adjusted EPS of $0.98 versus the $2.05 consensus estimate, while revenue fell 1.3% year over year to $3.0 billion. Analysts maintain a bearish outlook, with Zacks downgrading the stock to “strong sell” and MarketBeat reporting a consensus “Reduce” rating.
• Pending securities lawsuits involving Pentwater Capital Management and its CEO allege that the firm helped drive Avis shares higher before selling millions of shares; the claims remain unproven and target Pentwater rather than Avis itself, but add legal and reputational uncertainty around CAR.

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR - Free Report) by 65.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,170 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 38,727 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.06% of Avis Budget Group worth $2,942,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CAR. UBS Group AG increased its stake in Avis Budget Group by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,964,807 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $380,444,000 after purchasing an additional 804,814 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Avis Budget Group by 38.1% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,975,675 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $253,519,000 after buying an additional 545,574 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Avis Budget Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,900,000. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 75.0% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 700,005 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $89,825,000 after buying an additional 300,000 shares during the period. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Avis Budget Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,080,000. Institutional investors own 96.35% of the company's stock.

More Avis Budget Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting Avis Budget Group this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Several law firms announced or promoted the same pending securities class action involving Pentwater Capital Management and its CEO, Matthew Halbower. The lawsuit covers investors who purchased Avis securities between February 20, 2025, and April 21, 2026, with a lead-plaintiff deadline of September 29, 2026. The case is directed at Pentwater and Halbower rather than alleging wrongdoing by Avis itself. Pomerantz class-action announcement
• Negative Sentiment: The allegations claim Pentwater and Halbower helped drive Avis shares up more than 400% before selling approximately 4.3 million shares over two trading sessions. Other filings allege that Pentwater’s disclosures did not fully reveal its trading intentions. These accusations increase legal and reputational uncertainty around CAR, although they remain unproven. SueWallSt lawsuit announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded Avis Budget Group from “hold” to “strong sell,” reinforcing the bearish tone surrounding the stock. The downgrade follows Avis’s recent quarterly earnings miss, in which adjusted EPS came in below expectations and revenue declined year over year. Zacks Research

Avis Budget Group Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:CAR opened at $138.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.61 and a beta of 1.92. Avis Budget Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.96 and a twelve month high of $847.70. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $165.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $167.81.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($1.07). The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. The firm's revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Avis Budget Group, Inc. will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAR has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Avis Budget Group in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Avis Budget Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Barclays set a $160.00 target price on shares of Avis Budget Group and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Avis Budget Group from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Avis Budget Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $132.75.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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