Short Interest in Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) Expands By 7.6%

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,540,000 shares, a growth of 7.6% from the March 31st total of 3,290,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 882,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.0 days. Approximately 10.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avis Budget Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Par Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Par Capital Management Inc. now owns 848,959 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $150,486,000 after purchasing an additional 117,600 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in Avis Budget Group by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 460,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $82,657,000 after purchasing an additional 55,000 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Avis Budget Group by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 403,279 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $71,305,000 after purchasing an additional 40,314 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Avis Budget Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $62,892,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 47.8% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 327,275 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $58,013,000 after buying an additional 105,867 shares during the period. 96.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CAR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Avis Budget Group from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Avis Budget Group from $202.00 to $183.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Avis Budget Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Avis Budget Group from $145.00 to $117.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Avis Budget Group from $170.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.57.

Avis Budget Group Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Avis Budget Group stock opened at $94.75 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 2.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $111.15 and a 200 day moving average of $151.21. Avis Budget Group has a 12 month low of $93.53 and a 12 month high of $244.95.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported ($3.21) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.65) by ($0.56). Avis Budget Group had a net margin of 13.59% and a negative return on equity of 696.69%. The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $7.72 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Avis Budget Group will post 14.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Avis Budget Group

Avis Budget Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides car and truck rentals, car sharing, and ancillary products and services to businesses and consumers in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia, and Australasia. It operates the Avis brand, that offers vehicle rental and other mobility solutions to the premium commercial and leisure segments of the travel industry; and the Zipcar brand, a car sharing network, as well as the Budget brand, a supplier of vehicle rental and other mobility solutions focused primarily on more value-conscious customers comprising Budget car rental, and Budget Truck, a local, and one-way truck and cargo van rental businesses with a fleet of approximately 19,000 vehicles, which are rented through a network of dealer-operated and company-operated locations that serve the light commercial and consumer sectors in the continental United States.