CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on CARG. Freedom Capital raised shares of CarGurus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of CarGurus from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of CarGurus from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of CarGurus from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of CarGurus in a research note on Friday, June 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.35.

CarGurus Price Performance

CARG stock opened at $37.59 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.17. CarGurus has a fifty-two week low of $26.39 and a fifty-two week high of $41.22. The business has a 50-day moving average of $33.00 and a 200-day moving average of $32.67.

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $250.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $249.85 million. CarGurus had a return on equity of 62.88% and a net margin of 18.06%.CarGurus’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. CarGurus has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.630-0.690 EPS. Equities analysts expect that CarGurus will post 2.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Javier Zamora sold 6,205 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.08, for a total transaction of $230,081.40. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 80,260 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,976,040.80. The trade was a 7.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Matthew Todd Quinn sold 3,824 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.03, for a total transaction of $133,954.72. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 233,146 shares in the company, valued at $8,167,104.38. This trade represents a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,764 shares of company stock valued at $1,071,649. 18.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in CarGurus in the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in CarGurus during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in CarGurus by 491.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 1,362 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its stake in CarGurus by 321.2% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 1,622 shares during the period. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in CarGurus by 356.5% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 1,697 shares during the period. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About CarGurus

CarGurus, Inc operates an online automotive marketplace designed to connect buyers and sellers of new and used vehicles. Through its proprietary search engine and data-driven pricing tools, the platform enables consumers to compare listings, assess fair market values and locate local dealers offering competitive deals. CarGurus also provides detailed vehicle history reports, dealer reviews and financing options to streamline the car-shopping process for both private parties and franchised dealerships.

The company’s core product offerings include Instant Market Value (IMV), which leverages pricing algorithms to help buyers identify over- or under-priced vehicles, as well as dealer subscription services that grant automotive retailers access to lead generation tools, targeted advertising and dynamic pricing insights.