Sands Capital Management LLC Buys 790,288 Shares of Carvana Co. $CVNA

Key Points

• Sands Capital boosted its Carvana stake by 87.7%, buying 790,288 shares to hold 1,691,515 shares (about 1.8% of its portfolio), a position reported as worth roughly $638.1 million.
• Wall Street currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" on CVNA with an average price target of $440.59, as most analysts maintain Buy/outperform views despite recent target cuts.
• Carvana recently beat estimates with Q4 EPS $4.22 (vs. $1.10 est.) and revenue of $5.60 billion (up 58% year-over-year), although insiders sold about 132,621 shares (~$59.2 million) in the last quarter.

Sands Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA - Free Report) by 87.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,691,515 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 790,288 shares during the quarter. Carvana makes up about 1.8% of Sands Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Sands Capital Management LLC owned about 0.78% of Carvana worth $638,107,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Carvana by 3.4% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 10,388 shares of the company's stock worth $3,919,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Carvana by 100.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 495,382 shares of the company's stock worth $186,878,000 after purchasing an additional 248,064 shares in the last quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLC raised its position in Carvana by 51.4% in the third quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLC now owns 18,589 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,013,000 after purchasing an additional 6,312 shares during the last quarter. Tabor Asset Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Carvana by 4.6% during the third quarter. Tabor Asset Management LP now owns 5,295 shares of the company's stock worth $1,997,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Carvana by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,989,809 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,505,186,000 after buying an additional 18,631 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVNA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Carvana from $600.00 to $519.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Carvana from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Carvana from $460.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Carvana from $500.00 to $440.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Carvana in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Carvana currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $440.59.

Carvana Stock Performance

Shares of Carvana stock opened at $318.26 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $395.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $380.21. Carvana Co. has a 1-year low of $148.25 and a 1-year high of $486.89. The company has a current ratio of 4.31, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $69.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.58 and a beta of 3.60.

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $3.12. The company had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.24 billion. Carvana had a return on equity of 50.96% and a net margin of 6.92%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 58.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Carvana Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Carvana

In other Carvana news, Director J Danforth Quayle sold 2,900 shares of Carvana stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.97, for a total value of $898,913.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 41,913 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,991,772.61. The trade was a 6.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark W. Jenkins sold 12,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.19, for a total value of $5,229,922.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 202,817 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $83,193,505.23. This represents a 5.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 132,621 shares of company stock worth $59,163,610. Corporate insiders own 16.36% of the company's stock.

Carvana Company Profile

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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