CarParts.com (NASDAQ:PRTS) Issues Earnings Results

CarParts.com (NASDAQ:PRTS) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The specialty retailer reported ($0.53) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.84) by $0.31, FiscalAI reports. CarParts.com had a negative return on equity of 47.19% and a negative net margin of 5.35%. The business had revenue of $129.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $124.04 million.

Here are the key takeaways from CarParts.com’s conference call:

• Profitability continued to improve: Q3 adjusted EBITDA was $1.0 million, marking the third consecutive positive quarter, while GAAP net loss narrowed to $4.1 million from $10.9 million a year ago. Operating expenses fell 10% year over year to $47 million.
• Revenue returned to year-over-year growth, increasing 1.2% to $129.3 million, with gross margin rising to 33.4%. Management attributed the improvement to pricing discipline, advertising efficiency, lower freight costs, and a more capital-efficient business mix.
• Capital-light partnerships are scaling: A-Premium exited the quarter at approximately $55 million in annualized revenue, above its $50 million target, while JC Whitney reached roughly $3 million. Management remains focused on longer-term targets of $100 million for A-Premium and $7.5 million for JC Whitney.
• Customer-retention and fulfillment initiatives gained traction. CarParts+ Rewards enrolled more than 200,000 members, fee-income businesses approached a $5 million annualized run rate, and three distribution centers were providing next-day delivery as the company works toward adding Chicago and reaching 300,000 annual last-mile packages.
• Demand and external cost conditions remain challenges: Consumers remain selective with discretionary spending, freight costs are still elevated, and management is limiting advertising in highly competitive segments. The company also continues to report a GAAP loss despite positive adjusted EBITDA.

CarParts.com Stock Down 21.1%

NASDAQ:PRTS traded down $1.82 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $6.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 89,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,603. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $8.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.07. CarParts.com has a 12 month low of $3.72 and a 12 month high of $10.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.67. The company has a market capitalization of $54.87 million, a P/E ratio of -1.57 and a beta of 0.68.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRTS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised CarParts.com to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on CarParts.com from $6.70 to $7.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CarParts.com from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $7.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CarParts.com news, Director Barry Phelps acquired 9,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $6.48 per share, with a total value of $64,152.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 345,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,240,706.24. This trade represents a 2.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael Huffaker acquired 36,580 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.64 per share, with a total value of $352,631.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer directly owned 139,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,345,358.40. This trade represents a 35.52% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 219,823 shares of company stock valued at $2,000,649. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About CarParts.com

CarParts.com, Inc is an e-commerce retailer specializing in replacement and aftermarket automotive parts and accessories. Through its online platform, the company serves owners, do-it-yourself customers, professional installers and collision-repair businesses seeking parts for cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles.

Its product offerings include collision and body components such as bumpers, fenders, hoods, mirrors and lighting, as well as mechanical parts for braking, suspension, steering, engine, transmission, exhaust and cooling systems.