Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Carvana Put Options (NYSE:CVNA)

Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 111,176 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 49% compared to the typical volume of 74,809 put options.

Carvana Stock Up 5.3 %

Shares of CVNA traded up $9.32 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $185.41. 8,290,774 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,491,899. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 3.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82. Carvana has a twelve month low of $67.61 and a twelve month high of $292.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $227.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.38. The stock has a market cap of $39.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 118.10 and a beta of 3.56.

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.27. Carvana had a return on equity of 36.59% and a net margin of 1.54%. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.32 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Carvana will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CVNA shares. Piper Sandler raised shares of Carvana from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Carvana from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Carvana from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Wedbush set a $250.00 target price on Carvana and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Carvana from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Carvana has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Carvana news, COO Benjamin E. Huston sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were 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 directly owns 196,278 shares in the company, valued at $35,033,660.22. This represents a 20.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Paul W. Breaux sold 1,362 shares of Carvana stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.08, for a total transaction of $367,848.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 153,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,387,059.20. This trade represents a 0.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 119,784 shares of company stock worth $27,524,344 in the last 90 days. 17.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Carvana

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Carvana by 81.5% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 181,249 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,859,000 after purchasing an additional 81,414 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Carvana by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $511,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Carvana in the fourth quarter valued at about $839,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Carvana during the fourth quarter worth about $36,527,000. Finally, Brucke Financial Inc. bought a new position in Carvana during the fourth quarter valued at about $415,000. 56.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Carvana

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.