Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 960,430 Shares of ACV Auctions Inc. (NASDAQ:ACVA)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in ACV Auctions Inc. (NASDAQ:ACVA) by 2,346.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,001,365 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 960,430 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.60% of ACV Auctions worth $21,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in ACV Auctions by 21.1% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 26,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $533,000 after acquiring an additional 4,563 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ACV Auctions during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,306,000. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of ACV Auctions by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 25,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $515,000 after purchasing an additional 4,464 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of ACV Auctions by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 63,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,290,000 after purchasing an additional 3,961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in ACV Auctions during the 3rd quarter worth $566,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.55% of the company’s stock.

ACV Auctions Stock Performance

NASDAQ ACVA opened at $13.31 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.15 and a beta of 1.74. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.56. ACV Auctions Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.88 and a fifty-two week high of $23.46.

ACV Auctions (NASDAQ:ACVA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $159.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.77 million. ACV Auctions had a negative return on equity of 12.94% and a negative net margin of 12.51%. On average, equities analysts forecast that ACV Auctions Inc. will post -0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on ACV Auctions from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of ACV Auctions in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Stephens raised shares of ACV Auctions to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 1st. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of ACV Auctions from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $18.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of ACV Auctions from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ACV Auctions presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO William Zerella sold 15,000 shares of ACV Auctions stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.53, for a total value of $202,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 766,266 shares in the company, valued at $10,367,578.98. The trade was a 1.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO George Chamoun sold 348,249 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.34, for a total value of $5,342,139.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,821,193 shares in the company, valued at $43,277,100.62. This represents a 10.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 423,411 shares of company stock valued at $6,776,916. Corporate insiders own 8.50% of the company’s stock.

About ACV Auctions

ACV Auctions Inc operates a digital marketplace that connects buyers and sellers for the online auction of wholesale vehicles. The company’s marketplace platform includes digital marketplace, which connects buyers and sellers by providing online auction, which facilitates real-time transactions of wholesale vehicles; Run List for pre-filtering and pre-screening of vehicles up to 24 hours prior to an auction taking place; ACV transportation service to enable the buyers to see real-time transportation quotes and status reports of the vehicle; ACV capital, a short-term inventory financing services for buyers to purchase vehicles; and Go Green’s seller assurance service for against claims related to defects in the vehicle.