Latest news with #WedbushSecurities
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
CarMax pops on Q1 earnings: The journey to catch up to Carvana
CarMax (KMX) stock gains after reporting an earnings beat driven by strong demand for used vehicles. Wedbush Securities managing director of equity research Scott Devitt outlines the results and the used car retailer's efforts to catch up to Carvana (CVNA). To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Catalysts here. CarMax is rising after topping first quarter expectations with sales rising nearly 6% from a year earlier boosted by strong demand for used vehicles. Joining me now, we've got Scott David, who is the Vedbush Security's managing director of equity research. Great to have you here with us. So, you have an outperform rating and a $90 price target on the stock. How are you looking at CarMax right now? I thought it was a good quarter. You know, retail units were up 9%. Um, it was a record high gross profit dollar per unit. Um, so it was a good quarter. You know, this company is uh constantly playing catch up with Carvana. And um, I think Carvana is making it a better company, but it's a slow progression. You know, and they've shown some some signs here of strength. I think the asset long-term is mispriced favorably, but um, you know, but it but it's uh it's kind of a steady as she goes and they have to keep executing. You know, we're continuing to look across this gross profit and and I wonder your evaluation of their gross profit and it did increase by 13% in the most recent quarter driven by higher unit volumes, strong unit margin performance here. But so much of this business is making sure that when they are purchasing cars as well that they're purchasing cars that are favorable enough for them to then be able to flip and add on that margin. What's your own assessment of the margin run rate that they're going to be able to achieve over time here and and grow to even get more shareholder value returned? So what's happened in the past 12 months is that retail prices have been rising faster than wholesale prices, which is good for a retailer like CarMax because they capture that spread. I think what you're going to see potentially over the next 12 months is that um, that that gap tightening a little bit, which will be, you know, somewhat of a headwind, but from a sourcing standpoint and a scale standpoint, it's really kind of a two-player game. You know, 90% of this industry is sold by small mom and pop still. And CarMax and and particularly Carvana, you know, are consolidating the industry at the at the kind of head of the industry. Um, what's notable, you know, is within the next three years that Carvana is going to start to approach and potentially exceed CarMax units. So that'll be important to watch. I think both companies can win. Um, but there's one, you know, performing at an A+ level and and and that's Carvana. And I think, you know, CarMax is probably a BB+ right now and the rest of the industry is a C.
Business Insider
10 hours ago
- Automotive
- Business Insider
Tesla stock wobbles as the company rolls out early robotaxi invites
Tesla shares wavered on Friday as investors eyed the company's move toward its highly anticipated robotaxi event. The stock rose as much as 3% to $332.36 before paring gains and falling by about 1%. The stock is down 21% in 2025. Tesla is poised to enter the self-driving car market by launching its robotaxi fleet in Austin, Texas, with early invites for the service rolling out Friday morning. The electric vehicle maker has been preparing for the event for months, keeping investors on edge as they await a fresh catalyst for the stock to gain amid falling vehicle sales in 2025. Influencers and popular Tesla personalities on X shared screenshots of emails they received Friday morning, revealing their invitations to test Tesla's self-driving vehicles. "As an Early Access rider, you can be among the first to use our new Robotaxi App and experience an autonomous ride within our geofenced area in Austin," an invitation posted on X reads. "Through this exclusive preview, you'll have the opportunity to provide valuable feedback on our Robotaxi service." Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives, a well known Tesla bull, described Tesla's robotaxi launch as the start of a "golden age of autonomous growth." "Taking a step back we view this autonomous chapter as one of the most important for Musk and Tesla in its history as a we believe the AI future at Tesla is worth $1 trillion to the valuation alone over the next few years," Ives wrote in a note on Friday, reiterating an outperform rating and a $500 price target for Tesla stock. Tesla stock has been volatile this year, but it's up sharply since its April lows, partly on excitement for the robotaxi launch. Investors have been concerned about falling Tesla sales, as well as Musk's political activities, which some shareholders believe have harmed the brand.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Lennar earnings & outlook: The impact of mortgage rate incentives
Lennar (LEN) reported mixed second quarter earnings results and issued a weaker-than-expected third quarter outlook for new orders and deliveries. Jay McCanless, managing director of equity research at Wedbush Securities, joins Catalysts to break down the latest on the stock, the earnings report and outlook, and how incentives like mortgage rate buy-downs are impacting the broader homebuilding sector. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Catalysts here. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CNBC
4 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
ETF Edge: AI revolution, tech amid uncertainty and top ETF themes
Dan Ives, Wedbush Securities global head of technology research, and Todd Rosenbluth, VettaFi director of research, sit down with CNBC's Dom Chu to discuss Ives' AI Revolution ETF, why he's launching now, tech green spots during the geopolitical uncertainty and the top ETF themes to watch this summer.
CNBC
4 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Tech could be a safe haven amid geopolitical uncertainty, say ETF experts
Dan Ives, Wedbush Securities global head of technology research, and Todd Rosenbluth, VettaFi director of research, join CNBC's Dom Chu on ETF Edge to debate where the tech trade goes amid the geopolitical uncertainty and if there are areas of the market sheltered from the changing situation.
