Investors Buy Large Volume of Carvana Put Options (NYSE:CVNA)

Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Investors acquired 155,794 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 92% compared to the typical daily volume of 81,195 put options.

Carvana Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of CVNA traded up $3.93 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $295.10. The company had a trading volume of 4,370,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,018,573. Carvana has a 52-week low of $148.25 and a 52-week high of $486.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 4.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $380.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $377.30. The firm has a market cap of $64.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.70 and a beta of 3.60.

Shares of Carvana are going to split on the morning of Thursday, May 7th. The 5-1 split was announced on Friday, March 13th. The newly created shares will be payable to shareholders after the market closes on Wednesday, May 6th.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Carvana news, COO Benjamin E. Huston sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $401.94, for a total value of $4,019,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 99,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,142,149.74. This trade represents a 9.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director J Danforth Quayle sold 2,900 shares of Carvana stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.97, for a total value of $898,913.00. Following the sale, the director owned 41,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,991,772.61. This trade represents a 6.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 53,574 shares of company stock worth $21,463,735. 17.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carvana

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVNA. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Carvana during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. bought a new position in Carvana in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in Carvana by 8,700.0% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 88 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Carvana in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position in Carvana by 112.5% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Gordon Haskett decreased their price target on shares of Carvana from $435.00 to $350.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Carvana from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Carvana from $550.00 to $485.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group set a $485.00 price target on Carvana in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Evercore cut their price objective on Carvana from $430.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $440.59.

Carvana Company 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.