CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $40.70 and last traded at $40.45, with a volume of 1343007 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $38.99.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of CarGurus in a research report on Monday, December 16th. BTIG Research increased their price target on CarGurus from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on CarGurus from $30.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of CarGurus from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of CarGurus from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.41.

CarGurus Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a PE ratio of -88.15, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.58. The company’s fifty day moving average is $37.44 and its 200-day moving average is $32.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at CarGurus

In related news, CTO Matthew Todd Quinn sold 4,678 shares of CarGurus stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.78, for a total transaction of $167,378.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 195,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,005,545.10. This trade represents a 2.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Samuel Zales sold 25,168 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.43, for a total value of $891,702.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 442,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,671,433.03. The trade was a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 74,556 shares of company stock worth $2,682,940. Insiders own 17.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CARG. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of CarGurus by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,298,894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,066,000 after purchasing an additional 151,862 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of CarGurus by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,043,217 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,328,000 after buying an additional 89,815 shares during the period. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in CarGurus in the 3rd quarter valued at $503,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in CarGurus by 51.9% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 64,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,934,000 after buying an additional 22,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in CarGurus in the 4th quarter valued at $767,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

About CarGurus

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.