Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Cars.com has been upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating a positive shift in analyst sentiment towards the stock.
• Multiple analysts have varying price targets for Cars.com, with UBS reducing its target from $12 to $11 while JPMorgan raised it to $14, reflecting mixed but generally optimistic views on the stock's performance.
• As of the latest report, Cars.com has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, with an average target price of $17.30 and a current stock price around $12.39.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on CARS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Cars.com from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $14.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and set a $22.00 price objective (up from $21.00) on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Cars.com from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cars.com has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $17.30.

Cars.com Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:CARS traded down $0.04 on Friday, reaching $12.87. The stock had a trading volume of 251,661 shares, compared to its average volume of 794,543. The company has a market cap of $790.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.77 and a beta of 1.76. Cars.com has a 12-month low of $9.56 and a 12-month high of $20.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.82. The firm's fifty day moving average is $12.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.51.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $178.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $179.43 million. Cars.com had a net margin of 5.71% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The company's quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Cars.com will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Cars.com news, insider Matthew B. Crawford sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.77, for a total transaction of $176,550.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 98,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,158,885.97. The trade was a 13.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cars.com

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CARS. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Cars.com during the second quarter worth approximately $149,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Cars.com during the second quarter worth approximately $543,000. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in Cars.com by 4.9% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 63,239 shares of the company's stock worth $749,000 after purchasing an additional 2,978 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP bought a new stake in Cars.com during the second quarter worth approximately $254,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Cars.com by 62.3% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 218,358 shares of the company's stock worth $2,588,000 after purchasing an additional 83,848 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.15% of the company's stock.

About Cars.com

Cars.com Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a digital automotive marketplace that connects local car dealers to consumers in the United States. The company offers a suite of digital solutions that creates connections between individuals researching cars or looking to purchase a car with car dealerships and automotive original equipment manufacturers.