CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG) Short Interest Update

CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,320,000 shares, a drop of 5.8% from the January 15th total of 5,650,000 shares. Currently, 6.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 719,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.4 days.

CarGurus Price Performance

CARG traded down $6.44 on Friday, reaching $31.15. 3,763,547 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 847,608. The stock has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of -67.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.59. CarGurus has a twelve month low of $21.18 and a twelve month high of $41.33. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $37.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.67.

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $228.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $231.72 million. CarGurus had a negative net margin of 5.47% and a positive return on equity of 13.96%. As a group, research analysts predict that CarGurus will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Zachary Emerson Hallowell sold 4,580 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Samuel Zales sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total transaction of $767,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 400,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,344,959. This trade represents a 4.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 59,388 shares of company stock valued at $2,204,338. Insiders own 17.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CarGurus

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of CarGurus by 198.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 800 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of CarGurus by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 912 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of CarGurus in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CarGurus by 82.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 937 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of CarGurus in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 86.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of CarGurus from $30.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of CarGurus from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of CarGurus from $26.50 to $38.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. B. Riley raised their target price on shares of CarGurus from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of CarGurus from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Two equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CarGurus currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $38.59.

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.