Hello, Thanks for signing up for MarketBeat Daily Ratings—we’re excited to have you on board. Every weekday, you’ll get a curated summary of new “Buy” and “Sell” ratings from Wall Street’s top-rated analysts, the latest stock news, and bonus investing content—all delivered straight to your inbox. You’re just two quick steps away from completing your sign-up: 1. Make sure our emails go to your inboxGmail users:
Mobile: Tap the three dots (…) in the top right and select Move to Inbox or Move to Primary
Desktop: Click the folder icon at the top and select Move to Inbox or Primary Apple Mail users:
Tap our email address at the top (next to From: on mobile), then select Add to VIP Other providers:
Reply to this message and add newsletters@analystratings.net to your contacts 2. Confirm your subscriptionClick this link to confirm your subscription. This verifies your account and ensures you receive your newsletters without interruption instead of getting stuck in your spam filter. Confirm your subscription here. After you confirm, feel free to download our popular free report, "7 Stocks to Buy and Hold Forever" with this link. Thanks again for subscribing—we look forward to being part of your investing journey. 
Matthew Paulson
Founder and CEO, MarketBeat. P.S. If you didn’t mean to subscribe, no problem—you can unsubscribe here.
This Month's Featured Content
Avis, CarMax, and Carvana: 3 Car Stocks Sharply DivergeReported by Leo Miller. First Published: 4/20/2026. 
Key Points
- Avis Budget Group is shooting to the moon as short sellers take big hits.
- CarMax remains down significantly as it loses market share.
- Meanwhile, Carvana is taking share, putting the stock heavily in the green over the past 52 weeks.
- Special Report: Elon Musk already made me a “wealthy man”
Car rental and used-car stocks are showing a wide divergence in performance. Three notable names in this space are Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ: CAR), CarMax (NYSE: KMX), and Carvana (NYSE: CVNA). Their 52-week returns range from roughly a 30% decline to gains approaching 500%. Here’s what’s driving those differences and what Wall Street analysts are forecasting next. Avis Catapults on Suspected Short SqueezeAvis Budget Group’s 52-week return exceeds 450% and is approaching the 500% mark. Since the end of March alone, Avis shares are up more than 200%, and the stock has posted nine single-day gains of 10% or more. Analysts largely attribute the explosive rally to a short squeeze.
The mainstream explanation for the Iran airstrikes may not be the full story. Addison Wiggin, Founder of Grey Swan Investment Fraternity, says there's a deeper motive behind the bombing campaign that most coverage is ignoring.
If you're making investment decisions based on what you're hearing in the news, Wiggin argues you could be working with an incomplete picture. Read Addison Wiggin's full breakdown of the real Iran story
Short squeezes happen when a large portion of a company’s float is sold short. If the stock moves higher, short sellers buy shares to cover positions and limit losses, which can push the price even higher and trigger further covering. At the end of March, short interest represented roughly 54% of Avis’s float—an extremely high level and a classic setup for a short squeeze. More recent reports indicate short interest has risen to about 58%, suggesting new short positions have been initiated even as the stock climbed and leaving room for additional squeezes. That said, betting on suspected short squeezes is very risky. Stocks driven by technical trading can fall as quickly as they rise when fundamentals don’t support elevated valuations. For example, Avis’s revenue declined about 1% in 2025, yet the stock trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio near 130X. Wall Street analysts remain skeptical: the MarketBeat consensus price target is $115, which implies roughly 75% downside from current levels. CarMax Sees Big Losses Amid CEO Departure and Falling SalesUsed-car reseller CarMax is down more than 30% over the past 52 weeks and has suffered several large single-day declines. One notable drop came in November 2025, when the stock plunged about 24% after the company announced its CEO would step down and provided weak guidance. At that time, CarMax forecast comparable sales would fall 8% to 12% in its Q3 fiscal 2026. (CarMax’s fiscal year runs ahead of the calendar year.) The company also projected earnings per share (EPS) of $0.18 to $0.36, versus analyst expectations for a comparable sales decline of about 3% and EPS above $0.60. CarMax ultimately reported a 9% comparable sales decline and EPS of $0.43. Though those results were better than the company’s midpoint guidance, the stock still fell, reflecting weak investor confidence in the company’s longer-term outlook. Even after CarMax reported beats in April 2026, shares dropped another roughly 15%. Analysts remain cautious. The MarketBeat consensus price target of $41.21 suggests the stock is near fair value, but targets revised after the latest report average about $35.50—implying more than 10% downside. Carvana Grows Car Sales by 43% While CarMax DeclinesPart of CarMax’s weakness coincides with the rise of Carvana. CVNA stock is up more than 80% over the past 52 weeks as the online retailer gains share from traditional resellers. In 2025, Carvana sold 596,641 cars to retail customers, up 43% year over year. By contrast, CarMax sold 780,684 cars in FY2026, down 1.1% year over year. A year earlier Carvana sold just 416,348 retail vehicles versus CarMax’s nearly 789,050, underscoring how quickly Carvana’s customer base is expanding. Unlike CarMax, which operates more than 250 traditional showrooms, Carvana conducts buying and selling entirely online: it acquires vehicles from sellers, reconditions them, and delivers them to buyers. That operating model appears to be resonating with consumers. Analysts are moderately bullish on Carvana. The MarketBeat consensus price target near $435 implies roughly 10% upside. Many targets updated in April are lower—the April average sits around $411, implying about 5% upside—but individual estimates range from $335 to $475. Carvana’s Q1 2026 results, reported in late April, could prompt further revisions. Avis Stands Apart; CarMax and Carvana Jockey for Market ShareAvis’s surge appears driven mainly by technical trading and short-covering rather than by dramatic improvements in the rental market. By contrast, CarMax and Carvana illustrate two competing narratives in the used-car industry: the legacy, showroom-based model versus an online-first disruptor gaining market share. Carvana has set ambitious long-term targets—it aims to reach roughly 3 million annual retail vehicle sales sometime between 2030 and 2035. Achieving that goal would require sustained annual growth in the range of roughly 18% to 38% depending on the target year. |
Post a Comment
0Comments