CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $37.59, but opened at $32.30. CarGurus shares last traded at $30.52, with a volume of 431,793 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $228.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.72 million. CarGurus had a positive return on equity of 13.96% and a negative net margin of 5.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CARG shares. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of CarGurus in a research report on Monday, December 16th. DA Davidson increased their price target on CarGurus from $26.50 to $38.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on CarGurus from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on CarGurus from $30.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, B. Riley boosted their price target on shares of CarGurus from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.59.

Insider Transactions at CarGurus

In related news, COO Samuel Zales sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 400,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,344,959. This trade represents a 4.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Zachary Emerson Hallowell sold 4,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.78, for a total value of $163,872.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 120,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,295,424.78. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 59,388 shares of company stock valued at $2,204,338 over the last 90 days. 17.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CarGurus

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of CarGurus by 152.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $762,000 after acquiring an additional 15,328 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in CarGurus by 153.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 6,593 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in CarGurus by 81.3% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 959 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in CarGurus by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in CarGurus by 629.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 372,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,183,000 after purchasing an additional 321,318 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

CarGurus Trading Down 18.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of -66.33, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $37.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.60.

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.