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

OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on OPENLANE from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of OPENLANE in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.00.

OPENLANE Stock Down 2.5 %

OPENLANE stock opened at $19.78 on Friday. OPENLANE has a 52-week low of $12.86 and a 52-week high of $20.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $19.92 and its 200 day moving average is $17.91. The company has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.08, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.52.

OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The specialty retailer reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $431.68 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that OPENLANE will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at OPENLANE

In related news, CFO Brad S. Lakhia bought 4,985 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $20.06 per share, with a total value of $99,999.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 14,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,918.18. This trade represents a 53.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On OPENLANE

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in OPENLANE during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,243,000. Clifford Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of OPENLANE during the third quarter valued at $10,309,000. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of OPENLANE by 1.7% in the second quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 8,921,967 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $148,015,000 after acquiring an additional 146,266 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in OPENLANE by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,475,741 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $41,799,000 after acquiring an additional 35,214 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in OPENLANE by 344.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 178,964 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,022,000 after acquiring an additional 138,720 shares in the last quarter. 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.