Pacer Advisors Inc. Grows Position in Cars.com Inc. $CARS

Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) by 16.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 440,809 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 63,234 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Cars.com were worth $3,579,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CARS. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its position in Cars.com by 487.0% during the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 160,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,953,000 after buying an additional 133,002 shares during the period. Kestrel Investment Management Corp bought a new stake in Cars.com in the 4th quarter worth $3,752,000. LSV Asset Management increased its position in shares of Cars.com by 83.3% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 191,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,330,000 after acquiring an additional 86,800 shares during the period. Breach Inlet Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Cars.com during the fourth quarter valued at about $8,899,000. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Cars.com during the first quarter valued at about $1,055,000. Institutional investors own 89.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CARS shares. B. Riley Financial lowered shares of Cars.com from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on Cars.com from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective on shares of Cars.com in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Cars.com from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cars.com presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.67.

Key Stories Impacting Cars.com

Here are the key news stories impacting Cars.com this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Profitability exceeded expectations: Second-quarter adjusted EBITDA rose 4% year over year to $53.0 million, with a 29.4% margin that topped the company’s 28%–29% target range. Net income more than doubled to $14.3 million, while EPS increased to $0.51 from $0.41 a year earlier. Cars.com Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Marketplace momentum and capital returns supported the outlook: Marketplace revenue grew more than 7%, its strongest growth in five years. Cars.com also repurchased 3.7 million shares for $37 million during the quarter and remains on pace for its $90 million 2026 buyback target. Cars.com Q2 Revenue and Net Income Report
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remained favorable: BTIG reaffirmed its “Buy” rating and set a $14 price target, implying meaningful upside from the recent trading level. BTIG Rating Reported by Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue performance was mixed: Quarterly revenue rose just 1% to $179.9 million, broadly in line with company guidance but slightly below one consensus estimate. EPS of $0.51 met the primary consensus estimate and exceeded the Zacks estimate of $0.49. Cars.com Beats Q2 Earnings Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Advertising-related weakness remains a concern: Dealer revenue increased 3%, but OEM and National revenue fell 18% to $13.6 million, limiting overall growth and potentially explaining the negative investor reaction.
• Neutral Sentiment: Guidance was steady to modestly constructive: Full-year revenue guidance of $723.2 million–$737.7 million brackets the $729 million consensus estimate, while third-quarter guidance of $183.9 million–$187.6 million is slightly above consensus. Cars.com Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Insider Transactions at Cars.com

In other Cars.com news, CFO Sonia Jain sold 52,579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.56, for a total value of $502,655.24. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 346,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,315,924.24. The trade was a 13.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 3.36% of the company’s stock.

Cars.com Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE CARS opened at $11.79 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.31. Cars.com Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.40 and a 12 month high of $13.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $659.12 million, a PE ratio of 27.42 and a beta of 1.60.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. Cars.com had a return on equity of 18.12% and a net margin of 3.73%.The business had revenue of $179.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.53 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Cars.com Inc. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

About Cars.com

Cars.com operates as a leading online automotive marketplace in the United States, connecting car shoppers with new and used vehicle listings from dealerships and private sellers. The platform enables consumers to research makes and models, compare prices, read expert and user reviews, and access tools such as TrueCost to estimate ownership expenses over time. Through its website and mobile applications, Cars.com aims to simplify the car-buying process by aggregating detailed vehicle data, payment calculators, and dealership ratings into a single user-friendly experience.

On the dealer side, Cars.com provides a suite of marketing and lead-generation services designed to help automotive retailers reach potential buyers and manage their online presence.