CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) Given New $34.00 Price Target at Royal Bank Of Canada

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) had its price objective cut by Royal Bank Of Canada from $40.00 to $34.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on CarGurus from $44.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen cut CarGurus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 15th. DA Davidson cut their price target on CarGurus from $37.50 to $33.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of CarGurus from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of CarGurus from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CarGurus presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.50.

CarGurus Price Performance

Shares of CARG stock opened at $30.17 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $34.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.80. CarGurus has a one year low of $24.65 and a one year high of $39.42.

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.02. CarGurus had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 46.62%. The company had revenue of $209.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. CarGurus’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. CarGurus has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.520-0.580 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CarGurus will post 1.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ismail Elshareef sold 1,645 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.21, for a total transaction of $52,985.45. Following the sale, the insider owned 91,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,957,586.62. This represents a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Ladd Hanson sold 2,358 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.10, for a total value of $89,839.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 50,466 shares in the company, valued at $1,922,754.60. This represents a 4.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 49,003 shares of company stock worth $1,858,494 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 16.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CarGurus

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new position in shares of CarGurus in the third quarter worth $70,856,000. UBS Group AG grew its stake in CarGurus by 158.2% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,537,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,254,000 after buying an additional 942,199 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in CarGurus by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,636,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,773,000 after buying an additional 594,670 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CarGurus in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $21,756,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of CarGurus by 159,137.1% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 536,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,787,000 after buying an additional 536,292 shares in the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key CarGurus News

Here are the key news stories impacting CarGurus this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS beat and strong profitability: CarGurus reported $0.63 EPS vs. $0.61 consensus and showed healthy margins and return on equity, giving confidence in earnings quality. MarketBeat: Q4 results
• Positive Sentiment: Raised revenue guidance for FY2026 and Q1: Management set FY revenue around $997.7M–$1.0B (above consensus ~$970.9M) and Q1 revenue guidance $240.5M–$245.5M (slightly above the $238.8M consensus), which supports top-line momentum. GlobeNewswire: Earnings release
• Positive Sentiment: Share buyback support: CarGurus repurchased ~ $350M in 2025 and announced a new $250M repurchase program for 2026 — a clear capital-return signal that can lift EPS and shareholder value. GlobeNewswire: Buyback details
• Positive Sentiment: AI and international growth narrative: Management is accelerating AI-driven product launches and emphasizing international expansion, which analysts highlight as multi-year growth drivers. Seeking Alpha: AI & guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed guidance nuance — EPS vs. revenue: Q1 EPS guide (0.520–0.580) centers near/barely under consensus (0.560), while revenue guidance is modestly above consensus — investors should watch upcoming quarters to see if EPS catches up to revenue strength. Company slide deck
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue miss in quarter: Reported Q4 revenue ($209.1M) came in well below the consensus (~$239M), which tempers the EPS beat and may worry revenue-focused investors. MarketBeat: Revenue details
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst price-target cuts: RBC and DA Davidson trimmed targets (RBC $40→$34; DA Davidson $37.50→$33.50), which can cap near-term upside despite some analysts retaining positive ratings. The Fly: RBC note
• Negative Sentiment: Data-security headline: An alleged breach (1.7M records) reported by ShinyHunters creates reputational and potential regulatory risk; investors may view this as a short-term headwind. MSN: Data-breach report

CarGurus Company Profile

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.