Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $176.09, but opened at $180.47. Carvana shares last traded at $189.28, with a volume of 1,083,337 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CVNA. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Carvana in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Wedbush set a $250.00 price target on shares of Carvana and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $340.00 price target on shares of Carvana in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Carvana from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Carvana in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.71.

Carvana Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $227.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $214.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.49 billion, a PE ratio of 120.52 and a beta of 3.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 3.64.

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.32 billion. Carvana had a net margin of 1.54% and a return on equity of 36.59%. Research analysts forecast that Carvana Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Carvana news, CFO Mark W. Jenkins sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.75, for a total transaction of $2,007,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 189,097 shares in the company, valued at $37,961,222.75. This trade represents a 5.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Benjamin E. Huston sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.49, for a total value of $8,924,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 196,278 shares in the company, valued at $35,033,660.22. This trade represents a 20.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 119,784 shares of company stock worth $27,524,344. Corporate insiders own 17.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Carvana in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Carvana by 109.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Carvana during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Carvana during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in Carvana during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 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.