Citigroup Upgrades Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) to “Buy”

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) was upgraded by analysts at Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm currently has a $277.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $195.00. Citigroup’s price objective points to a potential upside of 39.43% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on CVNA. Morgan Stanley upgraded Carvana from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $260.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Carvana from $230.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Carvana from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Carvana in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Carvana in a research note on Tuesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $241.94.

Carvana Price Performance

NYSE:CVNA opened at $198.67 on Wednesday. Carvana has a 1-year low of $40.21 and a 1-year high of $268.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.99, a current ratio of 3.25 and a quick ratio of 2.12. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $236.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $182.59. The firm has a market cap of $41.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19,886.89 and a beta of 3.38.

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.47 billion. Carvana’s quarterly revenue was up 31.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Carvana will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Ernest C. Garcia II sold 100,000 shares of Carvana stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.47, for a total transaction of $19,047,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 38,258,131 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,287,026,211.57. The trade was a 0.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Mark W. Jenkins sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.75, for a total value of $2,007,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 189,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,961,222.75. This represents a 5.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,051,908 shares of company stock worth $218,824,285 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 17.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Eagle Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Carvana during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,531,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of Carvana during the 4th quarter worth approximately $609,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Carvana by 124.9% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 581,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,888,000 after buying an additional 323,153 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Carvana by 6.9% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 207,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,197,000 after purchasing an additional 13,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its holdings in Carvana by 89.2% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 53,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,229,000 after buying an additional 24,996 shares during the last quarter. 56.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Carvana

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.