Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) Shares Gap Up to $94.75

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $94.75, but opened at $110.27. Avis Budget Group shares last traded at $112.93, with a volume of 458,359 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Avis Budget Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Avis Budget Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Avis Budget Group from $190.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Avis Budget Group from $202.00 to $183.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Avis Budget Group from $170.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Avis Budget Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.57.

Avis Budget Group Trading Up 23.1 %

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $151.21. The stock has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 2.28.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last announced 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 negative return on equity of 696.69% and a net margin of 13.59%. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.72 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Avis Budget Group, Inc. will post 14.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Avis Budget Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC increased its stake in Avis Budget Group by 248.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 491 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,704 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,025,000 after buying an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning bought a new position in shares of Avis Budget Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,695,000. ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in Avis Budget Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $16,172,000. Finally, K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc grew its position in Avis Budget Group by 37.5% in the third quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc now owns 11,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,977,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period. 96.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Avis Budget Group

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.