Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Strong-Buy Rating

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Carvana from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $104.00 target price (up from $97.00) on shares of Carvana in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Carvana from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays set a $93.00 price target on Carvana and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Evercore increased their price objective on Carvana from $78.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.14.

Carvana Stock Performance

Shares of CVNA opened at $69.68 on Monday. Carvana has a one year low of $54.46 and a one year high of $97.38. The company has a 50-day moving average of $70.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.17. The stock has a market cap of $76.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.39, a PEG ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 3.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 4.09 and a quick ratio of 2.57.

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $1.37. The business had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.12 billion. Carvana had a net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 41.46%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Carvana will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Carvana

In other news, insider Thomas Taira sold 18,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.20, for a total value of $1,285,570.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 292,820 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,970,324. This represents a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Stephen R. Palmer sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.42, for a total value of $352,100.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 152,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,771,091.10. This represents a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 386,287 shares of company stock valued at $27,022,696. Insiders own 15.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carvana

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Carvana in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Carvana during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. bought a new position in Carvana during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Carvana by 152.6% during the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 96 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Carvana in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 56.71% of the company’s stock.

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.