Scharf Investments LLC Takes Position in CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG)

Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 8,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Prevatt Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in CarGurus in the 4th quarter worth $24,160,000. Pale Fire Capital SE bought a new position in shares of CarGurus during the 4th quarter worth about $1,800,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of CarGurus by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 452,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,925,000 after acquiring an additional 48,389 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CarGurus by 207.9% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 293,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,097,000 after acquiring an additional 198,321 shares during the period. Finally, Cullinan Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of CarGurus during the 4th quarter worth about $1,377,000. Institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

CarGurus Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CARG traded up $0.37 during trading on Thursday, hitting $25.87. 529,668 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 940,382. CarGurus, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.70 and a 1-year high of $26.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $24.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.47. The firm has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.07, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.55.

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.03. CarGurus had a net margin of 4.04% and a return on equity of 8.80%. The company had revenue of $215.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $217.29 million. As a group, research analysts predict that CarGurus, Inc. will post 0.98 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at CarGurus

In related news, CMO Dafna Sarnoff sold 4,301 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.04, for a total transaction of $99,095.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 163,798 shares in the company, valued at $3,773,905.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, COO Samuel Zales sold 17,668 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total value of $378,448.56. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 548,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,756,259.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Dafna Sarnoff sold 4,301 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.04, for a total transaction of $99,095.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 163,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,773,905.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 76,317 shares of company stock worth $1,831,473 in the last quarter. 17.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on CARG. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of CarGurus from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of CarGurus from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. JMP Securities raised shares of CarGurus from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, June 7th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of CarGurus from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of CarGurus from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.13.

CarGurus Company Profile

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.