OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) Hits New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

OPENLANE, Inc. (NYSE:KAR - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $22.91 and last traded at $22.88, with a volume of 180994 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $22.75.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on KAR. Wall Street Zen upgraded OPENLANE from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of OPENLANE from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $23.00 to $20.00 in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Stephens upgraded shares of OPENLANE from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of OPENLANE in a research note on Friday, February 21st.

OPENLANE Stock Performance

The business's fifty day moving average price is $20.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.97, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.32.

OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty retailer reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.07. OPENLANE had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The company had revenue of $460.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.70 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. OPENLANE's revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that OPENLANE, Inc. will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP James P. Coyle sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.72, for a total value of $152,040.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $793,018.92. This represents a 16.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of OPENLANE

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in OPENLANE by 7.0% in the first quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 9,925,661 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $191,367,000 after purchasing an additional 647,164 shares during the last quarter. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of OPENLANE by 11.2% in the first quarter. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP now owns 4,577,285 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $88,250,000 after buying an additional 461,976 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in OPENLANE by 14.6% during the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,538,477 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $48,942,000 after acquiring an additional 323,696 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in OPENLANE by 16.0% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,586,179 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $30,582,000 after acquiring an additional 219,261 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of OPENLANE by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,493,988 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $29,641,000 after purchasing an additional 35,164 shares during the period. 99.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About OPENLANE

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.