Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,330,000 shares, a growth of 8.1% from the May 31st total of 3,080,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 715,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days. Approximately 9.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on CAR. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Avis Budget Group from $145.00 to $117.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Avis Budget Group from $190.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Avis Budget Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $118.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Avis Budget Group from $170.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Avis Budget Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Avis Budget Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.57.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Denali Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 94.1% in the first quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 231 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 119.2% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 228 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 15,550.0% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 313 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Avis Budget Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 55.8% in the first quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 905 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. 96.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Avis Budget Group Price Performance

Shares of CAR stock traded up $2.25 on Wednesday, hitting $107.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 347,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 766,019. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 2.21. Avis Budget Group has a fifty-two week low of $93.53 and a fifty-two week high of $244.95. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $110.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.71.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported ($3.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.65) by ($0.56). Avis Budget Group had a net margin of 10.05% and a negative return on equity of 480.48%. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.72 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Avis Budget Group will post 12.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avis Budget Group Company Profile

Avis Budget Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides car and truck rentals, car sharing, and ancillary products and services to businesses and consumers in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia, and Australasia. It operates the Avis brand, that offers vehicle rental and other mobility solutions to the premium commercial and leisure segments of the travel industry; and the Zipcar brand, a car sharing network, as well as the Budget brand, a supplier of vehicle rental and other mobility solutions focused primarily on more value-conscious customers comprising Budget car rental, and Budget Truck, a local, and one-way truck and cargo van rental businesses with a fleet of approximately 19,000 vehicles, which are rented through a network of dealer-operated and company-operated locations that serve the light commercial and consumer sectors in the continental United States.