Renaissance Technologies LLC Trims Stock Position in Carvana Co. $CVNA

Key Points

• Renaissance Technologies cut its Carvana stake by 14.6% in the first quarter, selling 206,180 shares and ending with about 1.2 million shares valued at roughly $377.6 million.
• Carvana posted strong quarterly results, reporting EPS of $1.69 versus estimates of $0.32 and revenue of $6.43 billion versus expectations of $6.12 billion.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.65, even as some insiders recently sold shares.

Renaissance Technologies LLC lessened its holdings in Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA - Free Report) by 14.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,201,218 shares of the company's stock after selling 206,180 shares during the period. Carvana comprises approximately 0.6% of Renaissance Technologies LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Carvana worth $377,639,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Carvana during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Carvana during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Carvana in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Carvana by 152.6% in the 1st quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 96 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in Carvana in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.71% of the company's stock.

Carvana Stock Performance

NYSE CVNA opened at $60.43 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.57, a current ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. Carvana Co. has a twelve month low of $54.46 and a twelve month high of $97.38. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $66.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.53. The firm has a market cap of $66.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 13.51 and a beta of 3.46.

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $1.37. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.12 billion. Carvana had a return on equity of 41.46% and a net margin of 6.40%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Carvana Co. will post 1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CVNA shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Carvana in a research report on Friday, June 5th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $97.00 price target on shares of Carvana in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Stephens raised their price objective on Carvana from $86.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $85.00 price objective (down from $95.00) on shares of Carvana in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Carvana from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $92.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Mark W. Jenkins sold 63,750 shares of Carvana stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.44, for a total transaction of $4,936,672.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,050,635 shares in the company, valued at $81,359,073.13. This trade represents a 5.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Thomas Taira sold 5,597 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.15, for a total transaction of $375,838.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 315,075 shares in the company, valued at $21,157,286.25. This trade represents a 1.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 396,962 shares of company stock worth $28,525,088 over the last ninety days. 15.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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