Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after Robert W. Baird raised their price target on the stock from $60.00 to $65.00. The stock had previously closed at $69.16, but opened at $71.75. Robert W. Baird currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Carvana shares last traded at $70.50, with a volume of 823,364 shares traded.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised Carvana from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Friday, March 8th. William Blair raised Carvana from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Wedbush upped their price target on Carvana from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Carvana from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Carvana in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Carvana news, major shareholder Ernest C. Garcia II sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.13, for a total value of $4,006,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,312,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $265,430,625. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Ernest C. Garcia II sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.13, for a total transaction of $4,006,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,312,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,430,625. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Stephen R. Palmer sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.75, for a total transaction of $433,750.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 62,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,423,089.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 187,883 shares of company stock valued at $15,505,178. Company insiders own 17.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Carvana during the first quarter valued at about $59,000. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new position in Carvana in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Carvana by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 692 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. bought a new position in Carvana in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Carvana during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 56.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Carvana Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.34. The firm has a market cap of $14.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 132.21 and a beta of 3.32.

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported ($1.00) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.95) by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.97) EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Carvana Co. will post -3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Carvana Company Profile

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.