Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) Trading 2.6% Higher – Still a Buy?

Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA)’s share price traded up 2.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $208.32 and last traded at $209.75. 1,519,575 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 4,513,710 shares. The stock had previously closed at $204.41.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on CVNA. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Carvana from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Carvana in a report on Thursday, February 20th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Carvana from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Carvana from $277.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Carvana from $365.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $261.53.

Carvana Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $44.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 132.90 and a beta of 3.56. The company has a current ratio of 3.64, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $227.25 and its 200-day moving average is $218.09.

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.32 billion. Carvana had a return on equity of 36.59% and a net margin of 1.54%. On average, analysts predict that Carvana Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Carvana

In related news, insider Thomas Taira sold 27,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.03, for a total value of $6,209,252.79. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 179,673 shares in the company, valued at $40,431,815.19. The trade was a 13.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Benjamin E. Huston sold 50,000 shares of Carvana stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.35, for a total value of $10,517,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 146,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,769,577.30. This trade represents a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 197,377 shares of company stock worth $44,251,096. Insiders own 17.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Carvana by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 462,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,148,000 after acquiring an additional 39,089 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Carvana by 135.5% in the fourth quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 5,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 2,994 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Carvana by 115.9% in the fourth quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,738 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Carvana by 37.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 478,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,305,000 after buying an additional 130,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Carvana by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 382,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,807,000 after buying an additional 95,497 shares during the last quarter. 56.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Carvana

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.