OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on KAR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of OPENLANE from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of OPENLANE in a research report on Friday. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on OPENLANE in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, OPENLANE has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.60.

OPENLANE Stock Performance

NYSE KAR opened at $21.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.52. OPENLANE has a one year low of $14.73 and a one year high of $21.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $20.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.61.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OPENLANE

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KAR. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in OPENLANE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Quarry LP grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,758 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of OPENLANE by 435.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 2,062 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of OPENLANE during the 4th quarter worth about $68,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted 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 valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 1,798 shares in the last quarter. 99.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.