OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

OPENLANE, Inc. (NYSE:KAR) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $20.96 and last traded at $20.80, with a volume of 34462 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.65.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of OPENLANE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on OPENLANE from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Stephens began coverage on OPENLANE in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of OPENLANE in a report on Monday, November 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.60.

OPENLANE Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.22. The firm has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a PE ratio of 80.03, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.52.

OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The specialty retailer reported $0.26 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $448.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $431.68 million. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that OPENLANE, Inc. will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other OPENLANE news, CFO Brad S. Lakhia acquired 4,985 shares of OPENLANE stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $20.06 per share, for a total transaction of $99,999.10. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 14,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,918.18. This represents a 53.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of OPENLANE

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP lifted its position in OPENLANE by 201.4% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,375 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,587 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of OPENLANE by 51.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,314 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 1,798 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of OPENLANE in the 4th quarter worth $187,000. Creative Planning bought a new stake in shares of OPENLANE in the third quarter worth $193,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its position in OPENLANE by 20.5% during the third quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 2,470 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.76% of the company’s stock.

OPENLANE Company Profile

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.