Principal Securities Inc. Raises Stake in Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA)

Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) by 50.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 366 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Carvana were worth $74,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Carvana in the third quarter valued at approximately $50,531,000. Oak Thistle LLC lifted its position in Carvana by 115.9% in the fourth quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,738 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Carvana by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 382,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,807,000 after purchasing an additional 95,497 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Carvana in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $609,000. Finally, Calamos Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Carvana in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,106,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.71% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Daniel J. Gill sold 44,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.47, for a total value of $11,416,680.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 191,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,617,150.75. This represents a 18.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Mark W. Jenkins sold 28,422 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.85, for a total value of $8,209,694.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 219,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,536,023.70. This represents a 11.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 173,629 shares of company stock worth $44,833,799. 17.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wedbush set a $250.00 price objective on Carvana and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Carvana in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Carvana from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Carvana from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Carvana in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $265.06.

Carvana Price Performance

CVNA opened at $232.08 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $232.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $210.17. The company has a current ratio of 3.64, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82. The company has a market cap of $48.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 147.82 and a beta of 3.37. Carvana Co. has a 12-month low of $67.61 and a 12-month high of $292.84.

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. Carvana had a return on equity of 36.59% and a net margin of 1.54%. Research analysts predict that Carvana Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carvana Profile

Carvana Co, together with its subsidiaries, operates an e-commerce platform for buying and selling used cars in the United States. Its platform allows customers to research and identify a vehicle; inspect it using company's 360-degree vehicle imaging technology; obtain financing and warranty coverage; purchase the vehicle; and schedule delivery or pick-up from their desktop or mobile devices.