Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 13,255,405 shares, a decrease of 12.6% from the February 12th total of 15,165,730 shares. Approximately 7.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 6,288,697 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Based on an average daily volume of 6,288,697 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Approximately 7.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Carvana news, insider Thomas Taira sold 1,174 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.00, for a total value of $524,778.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 68,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,644. This trade represents a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director J Danforth Quayle sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.97, for a total value of $898,913.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 41,913 shares in the company, valued at $12,991,772.61. The trade was a 6.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 53,574 shares of company stock worth $21,463,735. Company insiders own 17.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CVNA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Carvana by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,783,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,082,804,000 after acquiring an additional 3,328,115 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Carvana by 93.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,714,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,411,751,000 after purchasing an additional 2,764,759 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Carvana by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,700,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,405,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,711,144 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Carvana by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,726,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,481,081,000 after purchasing an additional 1,407,762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Carvana by 55.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,880,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,632,763,000 after purchasing an additional 1,382,852 shares in the last quarter. 56.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Carvana from $550.00 to $485.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. BTIG Research reduced their price target on shares of Carvana from $535.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Carvana from $550.00 to $465.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Argus upgraded shares of Carvana to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Carvana from $470.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Carvana currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $440.59.

Carvana Stock Performance

Shares of CVNA opened at $291.40 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $63.77 billion, a PE ratio of 36.24 and a beta of 3.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 4.31. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $380.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $377.30. Carvana has a 52 week low of $148.25 and a 52 week high of $486.89.

Carvana’s stock is set to split on Thursday, May 7th. The 5-1 split was announced on Friday, March 13th. The newly minted shares will be issued to shareholders after the market closes on Wednesday, May 6th.

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $3.12. The firm had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.24 billion. Carvana had a return on equity of 50.96% and a net margin of 6.92%.The firm’s revenue was up 58.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Carvana will post 2.85 EPS 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.