Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $172.22, but opened at $183.25. Carvana shares last traded at $180.90, with a volume of 891,416 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Carvana from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Carvana in a research note on Monday, December 16th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Carvana in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Carvana in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.65.

Carvana Stock Down 7.6 %

The stock has a market cap of $35.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 105.52 and a beta of 3.56. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $229.54 and its 200 day moving average is $213.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82, a current ratio of 3.64 and a quick ratio of 2.12.

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

Insider Activity at Carvana

In other Carvana news, CFO Mark W. Jenkins sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 189,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,961,222.75. This represents a 5.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Paul W. Breaux sold 1,362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.08, for a total value of $367,848.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 153,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,387,059.20. This represents a 0.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 69,784 shares of company stock worth $18,599,844. 17.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carvana

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Carvana by 90.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,361,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,152,311,000 after acquiring an additional 5,882,656 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Carvana by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,425,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,323,463,000 after purchasing an additional 610,234 shares during the last quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP raised its stake in shares of Carvana by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 3,987,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $810,827,000 after purchasing an additional 57,215 shares in the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Carvana by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 2,168,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $440,932,000 after purchasing an additional 129,246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Carvana by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,878,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,592,000 after purchasing an additional 75,250 shares in the last quarter. 56.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.