Short Interest in Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) Grows By 7.7%

Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,400,000 shares, a growth of 7.7% from the December 15th total of 12,440,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,270,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Carvana Stock Performance

NYSE CVNA traded down $1.33 during trading on Friday, reaching $230.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,102,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,796,350. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $231.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $186.66. Carvana has a twelve month low of $40.21 and a twelve month high of $268.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.99, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 3.25. The firm has a market cap of $47.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23,082.38 and a beta of 3.38.

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 31.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Carvana will post 0.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on CVNA. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Carvana in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Carvana from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Carvana from $230.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Carvana in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Carvana from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Carvana has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $241.94.

Insider Activity at Carvana

In other news, COO Benjamin E. Huston sold 3,043 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $730,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 218,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,484,640. The trade was a 1.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark W. Jenkins sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.75, for a total transaction of $2,007,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 189,097 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,961,222.75. This trade represents a 5.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 651,908 shares of company stock worth $142,079,285. Insiders own 17.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carvana

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Carvana by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Carvana by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 27,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,657,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Carvana by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 5,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $890,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Carvana by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $586,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Carvana by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 4,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $726,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.71% of the company’s stock.

Carvana Company 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.