OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Stephens

Stephens assumed coverage on shares of OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) in a report issued on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an equal weight rating and a $20.00 price target on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com lowered OPENLANE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 19th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of OPENLANE in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of OPENLANE from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.60.

OPENLANE Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of KAR stock opened at $20.66 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.52. OPENLANE has a 1 year low of $12.86 and a 1 year high of $20.85. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.16.

OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The specialty retailer reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.04. OPENLANE had a net margin of 4.26% and a return on equity of 8.67%. The business had revenue of $448.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $431.68 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.18 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that OPENLANE will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Brad S. Lakhia bought 4,985 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $20.06 per share, with a total value of $99,999.10. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 14,303 shares in the company, valued at $286,918.18. This trade represents a 53.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.32% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OPENLANE

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of OPENLANE by 201.4% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,375 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,587 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of OPENLANE by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,314 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 1,798 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in OPENLANE during the 4th quarter worth about $187,000. Creative Planning bought a new stake in OPENLANE during the 3rd quarter worth about $193,000. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C acquired a new stake in OPENLANE in the 2nd quarter valued at about $233,000. 99.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About OPENLANE

OPENLANE, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital marketplace for used vehicles, which connects sellers and buyers in North America, Europe, the Philippines, and Uruguay. The company operates through two segments, Marketplace and Finance. The Marketplace segment offers digital marketplace services for buying and selling used vehicles.