Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) Stock Passes Below 50 Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR - Get Free Report) passed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $93.73 and traded as low as $78.91. Avis Budget Group shares last traded at $81.76, with a volume of 603,705 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Avis Budget Group from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Northcoast Research lowered shares of Avis Budget Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Avis Budget Group from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com raised Avis Budget Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Avis Budget Group in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $133.75.

Avis Budget Group Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.47 and a beta of 2.25. The company has a 50-day moving average of $93.73 and a 200-day moving average of $91.70.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The business services provider reported $6.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $8.55 by ($1.90). Avis Budget Group had a negative return on equity of 101.41% and a net margin of 3.34%. The company had revenue of $3.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $16.78 earnings per share. Avis Budget Group's revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Avis Budget Group, Inc. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avis Budget Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 27.6% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,664 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 138.6% during the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 38,568 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,031,000 after purchasing an additional 22,401 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avis Budget Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $116,000. Qsemble Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Avis Budget Group by 77.8% in the 2nd quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 7,708 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $806,000 after purchasing an additional 3,373 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Avis Budget Group by 17.6% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 589,780 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $61,644,000 after purchasing an additional 88,279 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.35% of the company's stock.

Avis Budget Group Company Profile

Avis Budget Group, Inc engages in the provision of vehicle sharing and rental services. It operates through the following segments: Americas, International, and Corporate and Other. The Americas segment includes the vehicle rental and car sharing operations in North America, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean.