Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $550.00 to $465.00. The stock had previously closed at $361.53, but opened at $341.90. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Carvana shares last traded at $336.3730, with a volume of 6,173,251 shares trading hands.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Evercore dropped their price objective on shares of Carvana from $430.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Carvana from $465.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. DA Davidson set a $360.00 target price on Carvana in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Carvana in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Carvana in a research note on Thursday. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $459.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Carvana news, insider Thomas Taira sold 30,952 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $435.96, for a total value of $13,493,833.92. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 69,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,464,884.80. The trade was a 30.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Benjamin E. Huston sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $439.50, for a total transaction of $17,580,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 100,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,283,141. This trade represents a 28.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 420,351 shares of company stock worth $179,589,049 over the last three months. Insiders own 17.12% of the company’s stock.

More Carvana News

Here are the key news stories impacting Carvana this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record Q4 results — Carvana reported much stronger-than-expected Q4 revenue and EPS (revenue $5.6B, +58% YoY; EPS $4.22 vs. ~ $1.10 consensus), showing solid demand and improved profitability. BusinessWire: Carvana Announces Record Fourth Quarter
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts still have bullish convictions — several firms reaffirmed buy/overweight ratings with high targets (e.g., Needham $500, Stephens $519), supporting upside narratives for long-term margin recovery. TickerReport: Stephens reaffirms rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst moves — a number of firms trimmed 12‑month targets (Wells Fargo, BTIG, BofA, Wedbush cut targets) but kept positive ratings; that reflects confidence in the recovery story but also closer scrutiny of near‑term margins. Proactive: Wedbush trims target but keeps outperform
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction and guidance/visibility concerns — traders sold the stock after management’s commentary left 2026 visibility unclear and flagged retail-level deterioration; pre-market weakness and large after‑hours drops reflect those concerns. MSN: CVNA stock slumps pre-market
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability and scrutiny risk — reports highlight a miss on profit‑margin metrics and growing accounting/regulatory questions; an investor class‑action probe was announced, increasing legal/regulatory uncertainty. Blockonomi: Margins miss GlobeNewswire: Pomerantz investigation

Institutional Trading of Carvana

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Carvana in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Carvana in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Carvana in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in shares of Carvana by 112.5% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Carvana by 8,700.0% in the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 88 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. 56.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Carvana Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $73.59 billion, a PE ratio of 77.23 and a beta of 3.57. The business’s 50 day moving average is $428.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $382.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 4.05.

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $3.12. Carvana had a return on equity of 30.62% and a net margin of 3.44%.The company had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 58.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Carvana Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Carvana

Carvana Co is an online-only retailer of used vehicles that operates a consumer-facing e-commerce platform for buying and selling cars. The company markets and sells inspected, reconditioned pre-owned vehicles through its website, where shoppers can browse inventory, view detailed 360-degree photos and vehicle history reports, finance purchases, and arrange delivery or pickup. Carvana’s model is built around a digital end-to-end car buying experience that aims to simplify vehicle transactions compared with traditional dealerships.

Its products and services include direct retail sales of used cars, trade-in and purchase offers for consumer vehicles, vehicle financing and related protection products, and a seven-day return policy that allows customers to test a vehicle in everyday use.