Strs Ohio Invests $852,000 in Carvana Co. $CVNA

Key Points

• Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Carvana, acquiring 4,077 shares valued at approximately $852,000 during the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Price T Rowe Associates and Vanguard Group, significantly increased their stakes in Carvana, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Carvana, with Wells Fargo increasing their target from $390 to $425, reflecting positive sentiment toward the stock's future performance.

Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $852,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of Carvana by 961.5% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 138 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Carvana in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Carvana by 251.4% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 253 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Carvana by 39.4% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 290 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Carvana during the first quarter worth $90,000. 56.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Carvana from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $450.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $440.00 price target on shares of Carvana in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Carvana from $375.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Carvana from $400.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Carvana from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $387.88.

Carvana Price Performance

Carvana stock traded up $1.57 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $392.42. 209,302 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,925,027. The company's fifty day moving average is $357.62 and its 200-day moving average is $297.91. The firm has a market cap of $84.45 billion, a PE ratio of 98.47, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 3.51. Carvana Co. has a 52 week low of $148.25 and a 52 week high of $413.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a current ratio of 4.00.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Carvana

In related news, major shareholder Ernest C. Garcia II sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.76, for a total value of $35,376,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 36,437,346 shares in the company, valued at $12,890,075,520.96. This trade represents a 0.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Ernest C. Garcia II sold 93,376 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $394.16, for a total transaction of $36,805,084.16. Following the sale, the insider owned 6,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,610,915.84. This represents a 93.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,366,037 shares of company stock valued at $840,850,804 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 16.36% of the company's stock.

About Carvana

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.