Legal & General Group Plc Raises Stake in Carvana Co. $CVNA

Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 585,845 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 26,119 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Carvana were worth $221,004,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CVNA. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Carvana by 8,700.0% during the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 88 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Carvana in the third quarter worth $38,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Carvana in the third quarter worth $38,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main purchased a new position in shares of Carvana during the second quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Carvana during the second quarter worth $49,000. 56.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Benjamin E. Huston sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.27, for a total transaction of $4,112,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 98,652 shares in the company, valued at $40,572,608.04. This represents a 9.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Stephen R. Palmer sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.04, for a total transaction of $393,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 37,192 shares in the company, valued at $14,617,943.68. This represents a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 53,574 shares of company stock valued at $21,463,735. 17.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on CVNA. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Carvana from $530.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Carvana from $600.00 to $519.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $519.00 price objective on shares of Carvana in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Carvana from $500.00 to $440.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Carvana from $525.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $440.59.

Carvana Trading Down 5.4%

Shares of CVNA stock opened at $292.70 on Friday. Carvana Co. has a 1-year low of $148.25 and a 1-year high of $486.89. The company has a market cap of $64.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.41 and a beta of 3.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 4.31 and a quick ratio of 2.73. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $390.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $379.11.

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $3.12. The firm had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.24 billion. Carvana had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 50.96%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 58.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Carvana Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carvana Profile

Carvana Co is an online-only retailer of used vehicles that operates a consumer-facing e-commerce platform for buying and selling cars. The company markets and sells inspected, reconditioned pre-owned vehicles through its website, where shoppers can browse inventory, view detailed 360-degree photos and vehicle history reports, finance purchases, and arrange delivery or pickup. Carvana’s model is built around a digital end-to-end car buying experience that aims to simplify vehicle transactions compared with traditional dealerships.

Its products and services include direct retail sales of used cars, trade-in and purchase offers for consumer vehicles, vehicle financing and related protection products, and a seven-day return policy that allows customers to test a vehicle in everyday use.