Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $61.55, but opened at $64.90. Avis Budget Group shares last traded at $76.13, with a volume of 1,689,735 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Avis Budget Group from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.71.

Avis Budget Group Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.44 and a beta of 2.37. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.70.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.50) by $0.27. Avis Budget Group had a negative net margin of 15.45% and a negative return on equity of 14.74%. Equities analysts predict that Avis Budget Group, Inc. will post 8.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avis Budget Group news, Director Lynn Krominga sold 1,405 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $133,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,950 shares in the company, valued at $185,250. The trade was a 41.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 52.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avis Budget Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Amalgamated Bank raised its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 7,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $643,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 118.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 337 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 7,592 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $612,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in Avis Budget Group by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 681 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Avis Budget Group by 41.3% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 736 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

Avis Budget Group Company Profile

Avis Budget Group, Inc engages in the provision of vehicle sharing and rental services. It operates through the following segments: Americas, International, and Corporate and Other. The Americas segment includes the vehicle rental and car sharing operations in North America, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean.