Whale Rock Capital Management LLC Boosts Position in Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA)

Whale Rock Capital Management LLC raised its position in Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) by 29.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,214,679 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 278,760 shares during the quarter. Carvana makes up 2.9% of Whale Rock Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC owned 0.59% of Carvana worth $247,017,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Carvana during the 4th quarter valued at about $179,364,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Carvana by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,425,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,323,463,000 after buying an additional 610,234 shares during the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP purchased a new stake in Carvana during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $116,020,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Carvana by 89.8% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,018,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,086,000 after acquiring an additional 481,912 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Carvana during the 4th quarter worth $86,636,000. 56.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CVNA shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Carvana from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Wedbush raised Carvana to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $340.00 price target on shares of Carvana in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. JMP Securities lowered their price objective on Carvana from $340.00 to $275.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Carvana from $250.00 to $240.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $269.18.

Carvana Stock Performance

CVNA opened at $304.92 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 3.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 194.22 and a beta of 3.61. The company has a fifty day moving average of $223.22 and a 200 day moving average of $230.75. Carvana Co. has a fifty-two week low of $97.55 and a fifty-two week high of $311.88.

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.76. Carvana had a net margin of 1.54% and a return on equity of 36.59%. The business had revenue of $4.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 38.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Carvana Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Carvana

In related news, CEO Ernest C. Garcia III sold 10,000 shares of Carvana stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.97, for a total value of $3,039,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 845,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,854,650. This trade represents a 1.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan S. Keeton sold 13,137 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $3,941,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 148,402 shares in the company, valued at $44,520,600. The trade was a 8.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 590,313 shares of company stock worth $145,613,672 in the last quarter. 17.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Carvana

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.