OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Thursday.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on KAR. Stephens upgraded OPENLANE from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $26.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on OPENLANE from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of OPENLANE in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.80.

OPENLANE Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:KAR opened at $20.61 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.53. OPENLANE has a 1-year low of $15.44 and a 1-year high of $22.47. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $20.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.08.

OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.01. OPENLANE had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The business had revenue of $455.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.64 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that OPENLANE will post 0.95 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OPENLANE

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KAR. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in OPENLANE during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of OPENLANE by 414.6% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,182 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,758 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in OPENLANE by 435.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 2,062 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in OPENLANE in the 4th quarter valued at $68,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in OPENLANE by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,314 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798 shares during the period. 99.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.