Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) Trading 12.7% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) shares rose 12.7% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $13.21 and last traded at $13.2320. 181,039 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 1,037,803 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.74.

Cars.com News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Cars.com this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Profitability improved: Cars.com reported adjusted EBITDA of $53.0 million, up 4% year over year, with a 29.4% margin that exceeded its 28%-29% guidance range. Net income more than doubled to $14.3 million, while EPS of $0.51 was above the Zacks consensus estimate of $0.49 and matched the broader analyst consensus. Cars.com Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Marketplace momentum strengthened: Marketplace revenue grew more than 7% year over year, described as the company’s strongest growth in five years. Total revenue rose 1% to $179.9 million, broadly in line with guidance. Cars.com Q2 revenue rises as net income doubles
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns support the stock: The company repurchased 3.7 million shares for $37 million during the quarter and has repurchased $57 million year to date, keeping it on track for its $90 million 2026 target. BTIG Research reaffirmed its Buy rating and assigned a $14 price target. Cars.com’s Buy Rating Reaffirmed at BTIG Research
• Positive Sentiment: Near-term outlook was constructive: Third-quarter revenue guidance of $183.9 million-$187.6 million is above the $183.0 million consensus estimate, with expected adjusted EBITDA margins of 28.5%-29.5%. Full-year revenue guidance of $723.2 million-$737.7 million remains near consensus expectations. Cars.com Beats Q2 Earnings Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Growth remains modest and mixed: OEM and National revenue declined 18% to $13.6 million, offsetting stronger dealer and Marketplace revenue. Total quarterly revenue increased only 0.7%-1% year over year.
• Neutral Sentiment: Cars.com ended the quarter with $450 million of debt and $333.3 million of liquidity, while recent institutional holdings showed both sizable additions and reductions, signaling mixed investor conviction.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CARS has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Cars.com from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. B. Riley Financial lowered Cars.com from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, May 8th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Cars.com from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.67.

Cars.com Trading Up 9.8%

The firm has a market capitalization of $720.44 million, a PE ratio of 30.30 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.31.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. The firm had revenue of $179.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.53 million. Cars.com had a net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 18.12%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cars.com Inc. will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Cars.com

In other news, CFO Sonia Jain sold 52,579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.56, for a total transaction of $502,655.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 346,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,315,924.24. This represents a 13.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cars.com

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Cars.com by 122.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 29,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 16,347 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Cars.com by 23.4% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 33,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 6,416 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Cars.com by 19.5% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 242,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,730,000 after acquiring an additional 39,561 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Cars.com by 62.3% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 218,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,588,000 after acquiring an additional 83,848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Cars.com by 4.8% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 223,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,653,000 after acquiring an additional 10,276 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.15% of the company’s stock.

About Cars.com

Cars.com operates as a leading online automotive marketplace in the United States, connecting car shoppers with new and used vehicle listings from dealerships and private sellers. The platform enables consumers to research makes and models, compare prices, read expert and user reviews, and access tools such as TrueCost to estimate ownership expenses over time. Through its website and mobile applications, Cars.com aims to simplify the car-buying process by aggregating detailed vehicle data, payment calculators, and dealership ratings into a single user-friendly experience.

On the dealer side, Cars.com provides a suite of marketing and lead-generation services designed to help automotive retailers reach potential buyers and manage their online presence.