Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) Trading Up 7.6% – What’s Next?

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR)’s share price shot up 7.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $157.05 and last traded at $158.0410. 275,695 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 1,757,953 shares. The stock had previously closed at $146.94.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CAR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Avis Budget Group from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Avis Budget Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays set a $160.00 price target on shares of Avis Budget Group and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Avis Budget Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Avis Budget Group from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $131.50.

Avis Budget Group Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $187.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $162.94. The company has a market capitalization of $5.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.29 and a beta of 1.87.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported ($8.01) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($6.82) by ($1.19). The business had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. The firm’s revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($14.35) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Avis Budget Group, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Avis Budget Group

In related news, EVP Ravi Simhambhatla sold 3,469 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.09, for a total value of $638,608.21. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,554,432.84. This trade represents a 20.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Pentwater Capital Management L sold 3,347 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $438.74, for a total value of $1,468,462.78. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 6,177,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,710,140,854. This represents a 0.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 16,299 shares of company stock valued at $3,836,012 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 50.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Avis Budget Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAR. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,964,807 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $380,444,000 after buying an additional 804,814 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 40.3% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 539,395 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $69,215,000 after buying an additional 154,994 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in Avis Budget Group by 287.5% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 11,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,436,000 after acquiring an additional 8,304 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in Avis Budget Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $97,951,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 46.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,290,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $207,142,000 after acquiring an additional 409,761 shares during the period. 96.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avis Budget Group Company Profile

Avis Budget Group, Inc operates as a leading global provider of vehicle rental and mobility solutions. Through its two core brands, Avis® and Budget®, the company offers a broad range of rental options including daily, weekly and monthly car rentals for leisure and business travelers. In addition to traditional airport and off-airport car rental services, Avis Budget Group delivers innovative mobility platforms such as car-sharing programs and connected fleet solutions designed to meet the evolving needs of corporate, government and individual customers.

The company’s roots trace back to Avis Rent a Car, founded in 1946, and Budget Rent a Car, established in 1958.