OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

OPENLANE, Inc. (NYSE:KAR) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $19.17, but opened at $20.79. OPENLANE shares last traded at $21.83, with a volume of 225,486 shares trading hands.

The specialty retailer reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $460.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $445.70 million. OPENLANE had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of OPENLANE in a research note on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com raised OPENLANE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of OPENLANE from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of OPENLANE from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $26.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in OPENLANE in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of OPENLANE by 414.6% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,182 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,758 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in OPENLANE by 435.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 2,062 shares during the last quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in OPENLANE during the first quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in OPENLANE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,000. 99.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

OPENLANE Stock Up 0.4 %

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $19.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.32.

About OPENLANE

OPENLANE, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital marketplace for used vehicles, which connects sellers and buyers in North America, Europe, the Philippines, and Uruguay. The company operates through two segments, Marketplace and Finance. The Marketplace segment offers digital marketplace services for buying and selling used vehicles.