Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Decreases Position in Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its stake in Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,777 shares of the company’s stock after selling 245 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Carvana were worth $1,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CVNA. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Carvana in the 3rd quarter valued at about $494,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Carvana by 363.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Carvana in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,496,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Carvana in the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,531,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Carvana by 112.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 4,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $734,000 after acquiring an additional 2,234 shares during the last quarter. 56.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Carvana Stock Up 3.2 %

Carvana stock opened at $191.38 on Friday. Carvana Co. has a fifty-two week low of $67.61 and a fifty-two week high of $292.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 3.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $227.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $214.95. The company has a market capitalization of $40.80 billion, a PE ratio of 121.90 and a beta of 3.56.

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.27. Carvana had a net margin of 1.54% and a return on equity of 36.59%. The firm had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. Research analysts expect that Carvana Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Carvana

In other Carvana news, CFO Mark W. Jenkins sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.12, for a total value of $2,501,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 219,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,016,895.44. This trade represents a 4.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Benjamin E. Huston sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.49, for a total transaction of $8,924,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 196,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,033,660.22. This represents a 20.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 119,784 shares of company stock worth $27,524,344. Insiders own 17.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVNA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Carvana in a report on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Carvana from $270.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Carvana from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Carvana in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Carvana in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.71.

Carvana Company Profile

Carvana Co, together with its subsidiaries, operates an e-commerce platform for buying and selling used cars in the United States. Its platform allows customers to research and identify a vehicle; inspect it using company's 360-degree vehicle imaging technology; obtain financing and warranty coverage; purchase the vehicle; and schedule delivery or pick-up from their desktop or mobile devices.