CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,320,000 shares, a drop of 5.8% from the January 15th total of 5,650,000 shares. Currently, 6.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 719,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.4 days.

Insider Activity at CarGurus

In related news, COO Samuel Zales sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total value of $767,200.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 400,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,344,959. This trade represents a 4.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Dafna Sarnoff sold 10,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.78, for a total value of $378,194.60. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 95,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,408,438.58. The trade was a 9.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 59,388 shares of company stock valued at $2,204,338. 17.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CarGurus

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in CarGurus by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 42,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,553,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of CarGurus by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CarGurus by 82.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of CarGurus by 81.3% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of CarGurus by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CarGurus Stock Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ CARG opened at $39.77 on Tuesday. CarGurus has a 52 week low of $21.18 and a 52 week high of $41.33. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $37.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.43. The firm has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a PE ratio of -86.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CARG. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of CarGurus in a research note on Monday, December 16th. B. Riley upped their price objective on shares of CarGurus from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on CarGurus from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on CarGurus from $32.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of CarGurus from $26.50 to $38.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CarGurus has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.41.

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.