Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $550.00 to $465.00. The stock had previously closed at $361.53, but opened at $341.90. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Carvana shares last traded at $336.3730, with a volume of 6,173,251 shares traded.

CVNA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Carvana from $450.00 to $545.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Argus started coverage on shares of Carvana in a research report on Monday, December 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $460.00 target price on shares of Carvana in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Carvana from $400.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $360.00 price objective on Carvana in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $459.91.

Insider Transactions at Carvana

In related news, insider Thomas Taira sold 30,952 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $435.96, for a total transaction of $13,493,833.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 69,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,464,884.80. This represents a 30.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Benjamin E. Huston sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $439.50, for a total transaction of $17,580,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 100,758 shares in the company, valued at $44,283,141. The trade was a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 420,351 shares of company stock worth $179,589,049. Corporate insiders own 17.12% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Carvana

Here are the key news stories impacting Carvana this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record Q4 results — Carvana reported much stronger-than-expected Q4 revenue and EPS (revenue $5.6B, +58% YoY; EPS $4.22 vs. ~ $1.10 consensus), showing solid demand and improved profitability. BusinessWire: Carvana Announces Record Fourth Quarter
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts still have bullish convictions — several firms reaffirmed buy/overweight ratings with high targets (e.g., Needham $500, Stephens $519), supporting upside narratives for long-term margin recovery. TickerReport: Stephens reaffirms rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst moves — a number of firms trimmed 12‑month targets (Wells Fargo, BTIG, BofA, Wedbush cut targets) but kept positive ratings; that reflects confidence in the recovery story but also closer scrutiny of near‑term margins. Proactive: Wedbush trims target but keeps outperform
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction and guidance/visibility concerns — traders sold the stock after management’s commentary left 2026 visibility unclear and flagged retail-level deterioration; pre-market weakness and large after‑hours drops reflect those concerns. MSN: CVNA stock slumps pre-market
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability and scrutiny risk — reports highlight a miss on profit‑margin metrics and growing accounting/regulatory questions; an investor class‑action probe was announced, increasing legal/regulatory uncertainty. Blockonomi: Margins miss GlobeNewswire: Pomerantz investigation

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVNA. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Carvana during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. bought a new position in Carvana in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in Carvana during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Carvana by 112.5% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Carvana by 8,700.0% in the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 88 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. 56.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Carvana Stock Down 6.4%

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $428.22 and its 200-day moving average is $382.10. The company has a market capitalization of $73.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.23 and a beta of 3.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 4.05.

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $3.12. The firm had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.24 billion. Carvana had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 30.62%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 58.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Carvana Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

About Carvana

Carvana Co is an online-only retailer of used vehicles that operates a consumer-facing e-commerce platform for buying and selling cars. The company markets and sells inspected, reconditioned pre-owned vehicles through its website, where shoppers can browse inventory, view detailed 360-degree photos and vehicle history reports, finance purchases, and arrange delivery or pickup. Carvana’s model is built around a digital end-to-end car buying experience that aims to simplify vehicle transactions compared with traditional dealerships.

Its products and services include direct retail sales of used cars, trade-in and purchase offers for consumer vehicles, vehicle financing and related protection products, and a seven-day return policy that allows customers to test a vehicle in everyday use.