Swiss National Bank has increased its shares in ACV Auctions Inc., according to the firm’s latest report filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The bank now owns 264,200 shares of the company, equivalent to a 3.9% increase during Q4 of 2020. This brings the bank’s total owned percentage of ACV Auctions up to 0.17%, worth approximately $2,169,000 as of their most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Headquartered in Buffalo, New York since its incorporation in 2014, ACV Auctions is an online auction platform that specializes in wholesale vehicles and data services. Its platform connects buyers and sellers for the online auctioning of used vehicles while its data services provide insights into market trends and vehicle conditions. Additionally, it offers customer financing services.
Several analysts have provided ratings on ACV Auctions’ stock recently. Guggenheim raised their price target from $15.00 to $18.00 in a recent report released on May 15th, followed by Barrington Research who increased their target from $14.00 to $18.00 on May 17th, while Citigroup lifted their target from $14.00 to $19.00 released on May 12th in a recent report published by Needham & Company LLC reaffirming a “Buy” rating on February 23rd.
The consensus among Bloomberg data analysts is similarly moderate due to two equity research analysts holding “hold” ratings while five have issued “buy” ratings on ACV Auctions’ stock currently yielding a consensus price of around $14.80.
Summing up, the Swiss National Bank has acquired more shares of ACV Auctions Inc., marking another vote of confidence in this growing automotive marketplace that provides innovative digital solutions for both buyers and sellers alike with upward pressure expected for future growth opportunities given positive recommendations outlined by key analysts.
ACV Auctions: A Digital Marketplace Disrupting the Wholesale Vehicle Industry
ACV Auctions Inc. has made waves in the digital marketplace world since its incorporation in 2014. The Buffalo-based company offers a platform that enables buyers and sellers to participate in online auctions for wholesale vehicles, as well as data services and customer financing options.
As of Friday, ACV Auctions stock had opened at $16.97, with a market capitalization of $2.71 billion and a beta of 1.41. While the company’s one-year low was $6.10, it hit a record high of $18.02 earlier this year.
Recently, several hedge funds have modified their holdings of ACVA, as institutional investors now own 69.75% of the company’s stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc., for instance, bought a new position valued at approximately $181,000 during the first quarter.
Similarly, Advisor Group Holdings Inc., Bank of New York Mellon Corp, Citigroup Inc., and Bank of Montreal Can all altered their positions in ACV Auctions during Q1 2021: Advisor Group Holdings lifted its share holdings by 18.6%, while Citigroup increased theirs by an impressive 359%.
Simultaneously, several company insiders have been selling stocks over the past few months: CFO William Zerella sold 67,500 shares in May for a total transaction value of just over $1 million; prior to this sale, he held over 333k shares worth approximately $5.42 million.
Director Robert P. Goodman also sold his stake earlier in May—just under 239k shares—for approximately $3.82 million.
All told, insiders have sold over three million ACV Auctions stocks within the past three months alone—worth around $56 million overall.
ACV Auctions reported revenue of nearly $98 million last quarter but posted earnings per share (EPS) of negative ($0.16), slightly higher than its estimated consensus earnings of ($0.18) by $0.02.
Although the company’s negative net margin of 20.75% and a return on equity of -16.03% raised some eyebrows, analysts predict that ACV Auctions Inc.’s EPS in the current financial year will be around negative ($0.54).
Despite the apparent volatility in recent stock sales from insiders and interest from hedge funds, the market outlook for ACV Auctions appears to remain positive—the company’s long-term growth potential undoubtedly tempts many investors eager to participate in one of America’s fastest-growing online digital vehicle auction platforms.
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