Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) Shares Gap Up to $94.75

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $94.75, but opened at $110.27. Avis Budget Group shares last traded at $112.93, with a volume of 458,359 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America lowered their target price on Avis Budget Group from $170.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Avis Budget Group from $202.00 to $183.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Avis Budget Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Avis Budget Group from $190.00 to $187.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Avis Budget Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $155.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $164.57.

Avis Budget Group Stock Performance

The company's 50-day moving average price is $111.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $151.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a PE ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 2.28.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported ($3.21) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($2.65) by ($0.56). The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.41 billion. Avis Budget Group had a negative return on equity of 696.69% and a net margin of 13.59%. The firm's revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.72 EPS. Analysts expect that Avis Budget Group, Inc. will post 14.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avis Budget Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aigen Investment Management LP increased its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 1,303 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,540 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $450,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 6,226 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,119,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in Avis Budget Group by 2.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,270 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $767,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.35% of the company's stock.

Avis Budget Group Company Profile

Avis Budget Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides car and truck rentals, car sharing, and ancillary products and services to businesses and consumers in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia, and Australasia. It operates the Avis brand, that offers vehicle rental and other mobility solutions to the premium commercial and leisure segments of the travel industry; and the Zipcar brand, a car sharing network, as well as the Budget brand, a supplier of vehicle rental and other mobility solutions focused primarily on more value-conscious customers comprising Budget car rental, and Budget Truck, a local, and one-way truck and cargo van rental businesses with a fleet of approximately 19,000 vehicles, which are rented through a network of dealer-operated and company-operated locations that serve the light commercial and consumer sectors in the continental United States.