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

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

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Samuel Zales sold 9,857 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.62, for a total transaction of $360,963.34. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 434,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,923,145.02. This represents a 2.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Zachary Emerson Hallowell sold 4,580 shares of CarGurus stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.78, for a total transaction of $163,872.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 120,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,295,424.78. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 59,388 shares of company stock valued at $2,204,338. Company insiders own 17.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CarGurus

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on CARG. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of CarGurus in a research note on Monday, December 16th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on CarGurus from $26.50 to $38.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on CarGurus from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. B. Riley lifted their price objective on CarGurus from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of CarGurus from $32.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.41.

CarGurus Trading Up 0.5 %

CARG stock opened at $39.97 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -86.88, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.59. CarGurus has a twelve month low of $21.18 and a twelve month high of $41.33. The company’s 50 day moving average is $37.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.43.

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.