Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $177.16, but opened at $187.97. Carvana shares last traded at $190.18, with a volume of 1,915,124 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wedbush upped their price target on Carvana from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Carvana from $160.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Carvana from $125.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Carvana from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Carvana in a report on Monday, December 16th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $230.65.

Carvana Stock Up 6.6 %

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $236.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.99, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 3.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 18,902.90 and a beta of 3.38.

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.47 billion. The business's revenue was up 31.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.23 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Carvana Co. will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Carvana

In other news, COO Benjamin E. Huston sold 3,043 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $730,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 218,686 shares of the company's stock, valued at $52,484,640. This trade represents a 1.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Daniel J. Gill sold 44,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.47, for a total value of $11,416,680.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 191,225 shares in the company, valued at $49,617,150.75. The trade was a 18.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,151,908 shares of company stock valued at $237,894,285. 17.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carvana

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVNA. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Carvana during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Carvana during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Carvana in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Carvana by 363.0% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 250 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in Carvana during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,000. 56.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Carvana Company Profile

Carvana Co, together with its subsidiaries, operates an e-commerce platform for buying and selling used cars in the United States. Its platform allows customers to research and identify a vehicle; inspect it using company's 360-degree vehicle imaging technology; obtain financing and warranty coverage; purchase the vehicle; and schedule delivery or pick-up from their desktop or mobile devices.