Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $204.73, but opened at $209.30. Carvana shares last traded at $219.78, with a volume of 954,674 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on CVNA. JMP Securities decreased their target price on shares of Carvana from $340.00 to $275.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Carvana from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Carvana in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley raised Carvana from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Carvana in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.59.

Carvana Stock Up 4.0 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $215.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $220.82. The company has a market capitalization of $45.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 136.57 and a beta of 3.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 3.64.

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.32 billion. Carvana had a net margin of 1.54% and a return on equity of 36.59%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Carvana Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Carvana

In related news, insider Paul W. Breaux sold 1,362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.08, for a total value of $367,848.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 153,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,387,059.20. This trade represents a 0.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Benjamin E. Huston sold 50,000 shares of Carvana stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.49, for a total transaction of $8,924,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 196,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,033,660.22. The trade was a 20.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 330,810 shares of company stock valued at $69,243,820 in the last three months. 17.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Carvana

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in Carvana by 65.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 5,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $946,000 after acquiring an additional 2,147 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Carvana by 47.7% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Carvana during the third quarter worth approximately $326,000. MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in Carvana by 3.0% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 4,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp acquired a new position in Carvana in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,185,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.71% of the company’s stock.

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.