DA Davidson lowers Cars.com stock price target to $13 on cautious ARPD outlook

Published 07/08/2025, 22:02
DA Davidson lowers Cars.com stock price target to $13 on cautious ARPD outlook

Investing.com - DA Davidson lowered its price target on Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) to $13.00 from $13.50 on Thursday, while maintaining a Buy rating on the automotive marketplace stock. According to InvestingPro data, the stock, currently trading at $11.77, appears undervalued based on its Fair Value analysis, with analyst targets ranging from $11 to $25.

The research firm cited more cautious Average Revenue Per Dealer (ARPD) assumptions for 2026, which led to a trimming of its 2026 forecasts by approximately 1%. Despite this adjustment, DA Davidson’s estimates for 2025 remain effectively unchanged. InvestingPro analysis shows the company maintains strong financial health with a robust free cash flow yield and solid growth metrics.

Cars.com has reinstated some topline guidance for the second half of 2025, expecting low-single-digit year-over-year revenue growth, which aligns with Street expectations. The company anticipates growth acceleration in the third and fourth quarters, partly due to a Listings subscription re-packaging initiative that focuses on bundling more services at discounts rather than implementing unit price increases.

Management has affirmed its previous calendar year 2025 expected EBITDA margin range of 29-31%, showing confidence in maintaining profitability levels despite the adjusted growth outlook. The company’s current gross profit margin stands at an impressive 66.62%, demonstrating strong operational efficiency.

The company has also increased its planned stock repurchases for calendar year 2025 from $60-70 million to $70-90 million, signaling continued commitment to returning capital to shareholders despite the slightly lowered growth expectations. This aligns with one of the key InvestingPro Tips highlighting management’s aggressive share buyback strategy, with several more insights available for subscribers.

In other recent news, Cars.com announced its second-quarter 2025 financial results, which showed a slight miss on both earnings per share (EPS) and revenue forecasts. The company reported an EPS of $0.41, which was marginally below the anticipated $0.42. Additionally, Cars.com posted revenue of $178.7 million, slightly under the expected $179.47 million. These results are part of the latest developments surrounding the company. Analyst opinions and stock price movements were not detailed in the report, focusing instead on the earnings figures. The financial performance did not meet market expectations, as reflected in the reported figures. Investors and analysts are closely monitoring these updates for future implications.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers
© 2007-2025 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.