CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $31.33, but opened at $29.90. CarGurus shares last traded at $29.78, with a volume of 433,535 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CARG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded CarGurus from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $34.00 in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of CarGurus from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of CarGurus in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of CarGurus in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CarGurus currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.75.

CarGurus Trading Down 3.0 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a PE ratio of 160.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.52.

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.06). CarGurus had a return on equity of 27.14% and a net margin of 2.34%. The company had revenue of $228.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $231.72 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that CarGurus, Inc. will post 1.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Samuel Zales sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.78, for a total value of $307,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,004,969.50. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Matthew Todd Quinn sold 4,678 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.78, for a total transaction of $167,378.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 195,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,005,545.10. This represents a 2.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 61,888 shares of company stock valued at $2,229,388 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 17.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CarGurus

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in CarGurus by 168.7% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,524,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,704,000 after acquiring an additional 957,035 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of CarGurus by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,145,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $261,091,000 after purchasing an additional 802,602 shares during the last quarter. No Street GP LP purchased a new stake in CarGurus in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,578,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in CarGurus during the 4th quarter valued at $19,465,000. Finally, Oberweis Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CarGurus in the fourth quarter worth $18,270,000. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.