OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) Coverage Initiated at Stephens

Investment analysts at Stephens initiated coverage on shares of OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 price target on the specialty retailer’s stock. Stephens’ price objective would suggest a potential downside of 2.85% from the stock’s current price.

KAR has been the topic of several other research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of OPENLANE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of OPENLANE from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of OPENLANE in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.60.

OPENLANE Trading Up 1.2 %

KAR opened at $20.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.52. OPENLANE has a 12 month low of $12.86 and a 12 month high of $20.85. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.11.

OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The specialty retailer reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.04. OPENLANE had a net margin of 4.26% and a return on equity of 8.67%. The firm had revenue of $448.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $431.68 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.18 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that OPENLANE will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at OPENLANE

In other news, CFO Brad S. Lakhia purchased 4,985 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $20.06 per share, with a total value of $99,999.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,918.18. The trade was a 53.50 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of OPENLANE

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of OPENLANE during the fourth quarter valued at about $187,000. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of OPENLANE by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,314 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of OPENLANE by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 41,912 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,477 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of OPENLANE by 8.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 139,502 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,355,000 after purchasing an additional 10,962 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of OPENLANE by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,475,741 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $41,799,000 after purchasing an additional 35,214 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.76% of the company’s stock.

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.