Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $177.16, but opened at $187.97. Carvana shares last traded at $190.18, with a volume of 1,915,124 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVNA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Carvana from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $270.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Carvana from $230.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Carvana from $160.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Carvana from $150.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Carvana in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $241.94.

Carvana Stock Down 0.7 %

The business’s fifty day moving average is $236.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $182.59. The stock has a market cap of $40.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19,719.72 and a beta of 3.38. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 3.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.99.

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.47 billion. The firm’s revenue was up 31.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.23 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Carvana Co. will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Mark W. Jenkins sold 10,000 shares of Carvana stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.75, for a total transaction of $2,007,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 189,097 shares in the company, valued at $37,961,222.75. This trade represents a 5.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Ernest C. Garcia II sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.55, for a total transaction of $19,255,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,258,131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,366,603,124.05. This trade represents a 0.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,051,908 shares of company stock worth $218,824,285 over the last 90 days. 17.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carvana

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CVNA. Forum Financial Management LP raised its position in Carvana by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Carvana by 2.0% during the third quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 5,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $890,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Carvana by 3.5% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $586,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in Carvana by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 4,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $726,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in Carvana by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. 56.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.