Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) Stock Price Down 5.1% Following Analyst Downgrade

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) shares were down 5.1% on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $165.00 to $140.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an underweight rating on the stock. Avis Budget Group traded as low as $180.12 and last traded at $176.0910. Approximately 136,359 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 94% from the average daily volume of 2,145,188 shares. The stock had previously closed at $185.55.

CAR has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Avis Budget Group in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Avis Budget Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Avis Budget Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $112.00 to $160.00 in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $85.00 target price on shares of Avis Budget Group in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Avis Budget Group from $142.00 to $97.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and an average price target of $125.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lynn Krominga sold 1,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.54, for a total value of $178,503.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Pentwater Capital Management L sold 3,347 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $438.74, for a total transaction of $1,468,462.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 6,177,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,710,140,854. This represents a 0.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,249 shares of company stock valued at $4,014,515. Company insiders own 50.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avis Budget Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CAR. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Avis Budget Group by 1,845.5% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 214 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Avis Budget Group during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its stake in Avis Budget Group by 102.3% during the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in Avis Budget Group during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Avis Budget Group by 136.4% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 253 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. 96.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Avis Budget Group Stock Down 6.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $6.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.13 and a beta of 1.91. The company’s 50 day moving average is $197.79 and its 200-day moving average is $154.41.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported ($8.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($6.82) by ($1.19). The company had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($14.35) earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Avis Budget Group, Inc. will post 3.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Avis Budget Group

Avis Budget Group, Inc operates as a leading global provider of vehicle rental and mobility solutions. Through its two core brands, Avis® and Budget®, the company offers a broad range of rental options including daily, weekly and monthly car rentals for leisure and business travelers. In addition to traditional airport and off-airport car rental services, Avis Budget Group delivers innovative mobility platforms such as car-sharing programs and connected fleet solutions designed to meet the evolving needs of corporate, government and individual customers.

The company’s roots trace back to Avis Rent a Car, founded in 1946, and Budget Rent a Car, established in 1958.