Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) Shares Gap Down Following Insider Selling

Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $199.56, but opened at $188.20. Carvana shares last traded at $190.01, with a volume of 1,823,458 shares traded.

Specifically, CFO Mark W. Jenkins sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.75, for a total value of $2,007,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 189,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,961,222.75. This represents a 5.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CVNA shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Carvana from $150.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Carvana from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Carvana in a research note on Thursday. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of Carvana in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on Carvana from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Carvana presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $229.18.

Carvana Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $36.78 billion, a PE ratio of 17,733.73 and a beta of 3.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $236.67 and its 200-day moving average is $180.94. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 3.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.99.

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.47 billion. The firm’s revenue was up 31.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.23 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Carvana Co. will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carvana

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Carvana by 90.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,361,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,152,311,000 after buying an additional 5,882,656 shares during the period. Lingotto Investment Management LLP boosted its stake in Carvana by 1.4% during the second quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 3,776,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $486,143,000 after acquiring an additional 52,833 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Carvana by 6.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,877,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $326,893,000 after purchasing an additional 107,610 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Carvana by 7.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,803,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,133,000 after purchasing an additional 131,059 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whale Rock Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Carvana during the third quarter valued at approximately $162,953,000. Institutional investors own 56.71% of the company’s stock.

Carvana Company Profile

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.