OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday.

KAR has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on OPENLANE from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Stephens initiated coverage on OPENLANE in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of OPENLANE in a research note on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.60.

OPENLANE Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of KAR opened at $21.00 on Friday. OPENLANE has a 52-week low of $14.73 and a 52-week high of $21.93. The stock has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a PE ratio of 39.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $20.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.61.

OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $455.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.64 million. OPENLANE had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 9.20%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that OPENLANE will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KAR. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of OPENLANE in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of OPENLANE by 414.6% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,182 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,758 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in OPENLANE by 435.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 2,062 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in OPENLANE in the fourth quarter valued at about $68,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in OPENLANE by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,314 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 1,798 shares during the period. 99.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

OPENLANE Company Profile

OPENLANE, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital marketplace for used vehicles, which connects sellers and buyers in North America, Europe, the Philippines, and Uruguay. The company operates through two segments, Marketplace and Finance. The Marketplace segment offers digital marketplace services for buying and selling used vehicles.