Needham & Company LLC Has Lowered Expectations for CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) Stock Price

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) had its price objective lowered by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $44.00 to $37.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 29.33% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on CARG. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of CarGurus in a research note on Monday, December 29th. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of CarGurus from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. DA Davidson set a $37.50 price target on shares of CarGurus in a report on Monday, November 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of CarGurus from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of CarGurus from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.23.

CarGurus Stock Performance

Shares of CARG stock opened at $28.61 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.35. CarGurus has a one year low of $24.65 and a one year high of $40.37. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.14.

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.02. CarGurus had a return on equity of 41.31% and a net margin of 16.41%.The firm had revenue of $238.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $234.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. CarGurus’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that CarGurus will post 1.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at CarGurus

In other CarGurus news, CEO Jason Trevisan sold 16,548 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.02, for a total value of $645,702.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 630,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,601,446.66. This represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ismail Elshareef sold 1,645 shares of CarGurus stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.21, for a total value of $52,985.45. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 91,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,957,586.62. This trade represents a 1.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 49,003 shares of company stock worth $1,858,494 in the last ninety days. 16.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in CarGurus in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CarGurus during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of CarGurus by 71.1% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of CarGurus by 661.0% in the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in shares of CarGurus in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About CarGurus

CarGurus, Inc operates an online automotive marketplace designed to connect buyers and sellers of new and used vehicles. Through its proprietary search engine and data-driven pricing tools, the platform enables consumers to compare listings, assess fair market values and locate local dealers offering competitive deals. CarGurus also provides detailed vehicle history reports, dealer reviews and financing options to streamline the car-shopping process for both private parties and franchised dealerships.

The company’s core product offerings include Instant Market Value (IMV), which leverages pricing algorithms to help buyers identify over- or under-priced vehicles, as well as dealer subscription services that grant automotive retailers access to lead generation tools, targeted advertising and dynamic pricing insights.