Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Makes New Investment in Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 191,142 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $19,978,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Avis Budget Group by 47.8% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 327,275 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $58,013,000 after acquiring an additional 105,867 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 70,663.6% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 7,784 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $954,000 after acquiring an additional 7,773 shares during the period. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Avis Budget Group in the first quarter valued at about $1,069,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Avis Budget Group by 1,345.4% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 2,341 shares during the period. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new position in Avis Budget Group in the first quarter valued at about $1,898,000. 96.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Avis Budget Group Price Performance

Avis Budget Group stock traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $87.50. 228,942 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 742,469. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.99. Avis Budget Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $79.03 and a 12 month high of $233.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 2.21.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The business services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by ($2.19). Avis Budget Group had a negative return on equity of 480.48% and a net margin of 10.05%. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $11.01 EPS. Avis Budget Group’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Avis Budget Group, Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CAR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Avis Budget Group from $120.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Avis Budget Group from $170.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Avis Budget Group from $205.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Avis Budget Group from $120.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Avis Budget Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avis Budget Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.57.

Avis Budget Group Profile

Avis Budget Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides car and truck rentals, car sharing, and ancillary products and services to businesses and consumers in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia, and Australasia. It operates the Avis brand, that offers vehicle rental and other mobility solutions to the premium commercial and leisure segments of the travel industry; and the Zipcar brand, a car sharing network, as well as the Budget brand, a supplier of vehicle rental and other mobility solutions focused primarily on more value-conscious customers comprising Budget car rental, and Budget Truck, a local, and one-way truck and cargo van rental businesses with a fleet of approximately 19,000 vehicles, which are rented through a network of dealer-operated and company-operated locations that serve the light commercial and consumer sectors in the continental United States.