HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Takes $3.04 Million Position in Carvana Co. $CVNA

Key Points

• HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Carvana Co., purchasing 14,520 shares valued at approximately $3,036,000.
• Bank of America raised its price target for Carvana shares from $375 to $425 while maintaining a "buy" rating, indicating growing institutional confidence in the company's stock.
• CEO Ernest C. Garcia III sold 10,000 shares for approximately $3.46 million, resulting in a 1.83% decrease in his ownership of Carvana stock.

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 14,520 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,036,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVNA. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in Carvana by 961.5% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 138 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Carvana in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Carvana in the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Carvana by 39.4% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 290 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Carvana in the first quarter worth $90,000. 56.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Carvana

In other Carvana news, major shareholder Ernest C. Garcia II sold 95,087 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.09, for a total value of $33,193,920.83. Following the sale, the insider owned 34,442,317 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,023,468,441.53. The trade was a 0.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Ernest C. Garcia III sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $347.99, for a total transaction of $3,479,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 531,440 shares in the company, valued at $184,935,805.60. This trade represents a 1.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,036,140 shares of company stock worth $1,057,170,571 in the last three months. Insiders own 17.12% of the company's stock.

Carvana Stock Performance

Carvana stock traded up $18.1040 on Friday, hitting $357.1740. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,475,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,134,150. The firm has a market cap of $76.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 3.57. The company has a quick ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 4.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $338.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $278.17. Carvana Co. has a one year low of $124.39 and a one year high of $413.33.

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.54 billion. Carvana had a net margin of 3.46% and a return on equity of 40.57%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 41.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.05) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Carvana Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CVNA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Carvana from $350.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Carvana from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Carvana from $400.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Gordon Haskett initiated coverage on shares of Carvana in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $329.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Carvana from $375.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $383.47.

Carvana Company Profile

Carvana Co, together with its subsidiaries, operates an e-commerce platform for buying and selling used cars in the United States. Its platform allows customers to research and identify a vehicle; inspect it using company's 360-degree vehicle imaging technology; obtain financing and warranty coverage; purchase the vehicle; and schedule delivery or pick-up from their desktop or mobile devices.