Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Acquires 3,006 Shares of CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 46,102 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,006 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in CarGurus were worth $1,685,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in CarGurus during the third quarter worth $28,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of CarGurus by 198.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of CarGurus by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 912 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in CarGurus by 82.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in CarGurus in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CarGurus Price Performance

Shares of CARG opened at $32.19 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $37.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a PE ratio of 178.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.59. CarGurus, Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.18 and a 1-year high of $41.33.

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $228.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $231.72 million. CarGurus had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 27.14%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CarGurus, Inc. will post 1.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other CarGurus news, COO Samuel Zales sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total value of $767,200.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 400,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,344,959. This represents a 4.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Dafna Sarnoff sold 10,570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.78, for a total transaction of $378,194.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 95,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,408,438.58. The trade was a 9.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 59,388 shares of company stock valued at $2,204,338 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 17.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of CarGurus from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of CarGurus from $26.50 to $38.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. B. Riley lifted their price objective on shares of CarGurus from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of CarGurus from $30.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of CarGurus from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CarGurus presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.41.

About CarGurus

CarGurus, Inc operates an online automotive platform for buying and selling vehicles in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, U.S. Marketplace and Digital Wholesale. The company provides an online automotive marketplace where customers can search for new and used car listings from its dealers and sell their car to dealers and other consumers; and paid listings subscriptions for enhanced access to its marketplace that connects dealers to a large audience of informed and engaged consumers.