OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) Stock Price Up 4.3% – Here’s Why

OPENLANE, Inc. (NYSE:KAR)’s share price was up 4.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $20.08 and last traded at $20.10. Approximately 700,443 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 7% from the average daily volume of 752,047 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.28.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on KAR shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of OPENLANE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut OPENLANE from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of OPENLANE in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of OPENLANE from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $20.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, OPENLANE currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.20.

OPENLANE Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 37.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.53. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.30.

OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $455.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.64 million. OPENLANE had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 6.27%. As a group, analysts anticipate that OPENLANE, Inc. will post 0.95 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On OPENLANE

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KAR. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in OPENLANE in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of OPENLANE by 414.6% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,182 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 1,758 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,062 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in OPENLANE during the 4th quarter worth about $68,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,798 shares during the period. 99.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About OPENLANE

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.