CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Needham & Company LLC Analyst Says

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) had its price target boosted by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $39.00 to $45.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective points to a potential upside of 20.81% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. BTIG Research boosted their target price on CarGurus from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of CarGurus from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of CarGurus from $30.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of CarGurus from $26.50 to $38.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of CarGurus from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.41.

CarGurus Stock Up 3.8 %

NASDAQ CARG opened at $37.25 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.13. CarGurus has a twelve month low of $21.18 and a twelve month high of $39.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -80.98, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.58.

Insider Transactions at CarGurus

In related news, COO Samuel Zales sold 25,168 shares of CarGurus stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 442,321 shares in the company, valued at $15,671,433.03. The trade was a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Zachary Emerson Hallowell sold 4,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 72,353 shares of company stock worth $2,598,961. Company insiders own 17.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CarGurus

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CARG. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in CarGurus in the third quarter worth about $21,052,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of CarGurus by 3,512.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 480,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,585,000 after acquiring an additional 467,042 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of CarGurus by 4.8% during the third 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. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in CarGurus by 252.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 169,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,089,000 after purchasing an additional 121,341 shares during the period. 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.