OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Key Points

• OPENLANE has been downgraded by Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating in its recent report.
• Despite the downgrade, the company has seen target price increases from several analysts, with predictions ranging from $25.00 to $35.00.
• OPENLANE reported earnings of $0.33 per share in its last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.24, alongside a revenue of $481.70 million.

OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of OPENLANE in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of OPENLANE from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of OPENLANE from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Barrington Research boosted their price objective on shares of OPENLANE from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on OPENLANE from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.75.

OPENLANE Stock Performance

NYSE KAR opened at $27.33 on Monday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $28.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.33. OPENLANE has a fifty-two week low of $15.44 and a fifty-two week high of $30.93.

OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The specialty retailer reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.09. OPENLANE had a return on equity of 11.65% and a net margin of 8.18%.The company had revenue of $481.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $453.26 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.19 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that OPENLANE will post 0.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at OPENLANE

In other news, EVP Charles S. Coleman sold 59,289 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.97, for a total value of $1,658,313.33. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 53,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,495,667.78. This represents a 52.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP James P. Coyle sold 194,575 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.94, for a total value of $5,436,425.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,029,616.94. The trade was a 84.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.32% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KAR. North Star Investment Management Corp. increased its holdings in shares of OPENLANE by 77.6% in the 2nd quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 1,575 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 688 shares during the last quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of OPENLANE in the 1st quarter valued at about $51,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of OPENLANE by 29.0% in the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,270 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of OPENLANE by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,575 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the period. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in shares of OPENLANE in the 1st quarter valued at about $75,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.76% of the company's stock.

OPENLANE Company Profile

OPENLANE, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital marketplace for used vehicles, which connects sellers and buyers in North America, Europe, the Philippines, and Uruguay. The company operates through two segments, Marketplace and Finance. The Marketplace segment offers digital marketplace services for buying and selling used vehicles.

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