OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) Sets New 1-Year High on Strong Earnings

Shares of OPENLANE, Inc. (NYSE:KAR - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $21.93 and last traded at $20.68, with a volume of 148496 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $20.07.

The specialty retailer reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $455.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.64 million. OPENLANE had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 6.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens assumed coverage on OPENLANE in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of OPENLANE in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on OPENLANE from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, StockNews.com raised OPENLANE from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.60.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of OPENLANE during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in OPENLANE by 414.6% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,182 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 1,758 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in OPENLANE by 435.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,535 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 2,062 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in OPENLANE in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in OPENLANE by 51.1% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.76% of the company's stock.

OPENLANE Trading Up 0.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.52. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.56.

OPENLANE Company Profile

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.