CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $33.36, but opened at $37.75. CarGurus shares last traded at $35.58, with a volume of 165,311 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CARG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of CarGurus from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. B. Riley upped their price target on shares of CarGurus from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on CarGurus from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. BTIG Research upped their target price on CarGurus from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of CarGurus in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.59.

CarGurus Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -71.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.55. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.80.

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $218.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.85 million. CarGurus had a positive return on equity of 11.06% and a negative net margin of 5.57%. As a group, analysts forecast that CarGurus, Inc. will post 1.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Samuel Zales sold 25,168 shares of CarGurus stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.34, for a total value of $713,261.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 480,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,619,722.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CMO Dafna Sarnoff sold 4,127 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.94, for a total transaction of $123,562.38. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 119,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,572,740.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Samuel Zales sold 25,168 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.34, for a total transaction of $713,261.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 480,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,619,722.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 61,065 shares of company stock valued at $1,823,794 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 17.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CarGurus

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CARG. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of CarGurus by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in CarGurus by 2.2% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 19,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $450,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in CarGurus by 81.3% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 959 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its holdings in shares of CarGurus by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 24,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of CarGurus by 43.5% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

CarGurus Company Profile

CarGurus, Inc operates an online automotive platform for buying and selling vehicles in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, U.S. Marketplace and Digital Wholesale. The company provides an online automotive marketplace where customers can search for new and used car listings from its dealers and sell their car to dealers and other consumers; and paid listings subscriptions for enhanced access to its marketplace that connects dealers to a large audience of informed and engaged consumers.