Is KAR Auction Stock a Good Investment?

KAR Auction Investment Advice

  KAR
To provide specific investment advice or recommendations on KAR Auction Services stock, we recommend investors consider the following general factors when evaluating KAR Auction Services. This will help you to make an informed decision on whether to include KAR Auction in one of your diversified portfolios:
  • Examine KAR Auction's financial health by looking at its balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. Analyze key financial ratios, such as Price-to-Earnings (P/E), Price-to-Sales (P/S), and Price-to-Book (P/B), to determine whether the stock is fairly valued or over/undervalued.
  • Research KAR Auction's leadership team and their track record. Good management can help KAR Auction navigate difficult times and make strategic decisions that benefit shareholders and increases its net worth.
  • Consider the overall health of the Commercial Services & Supplies space and any emerging trends that could impact KAR Auction's business and its evolving consumer preferences.
  • Compare KAR Auction's performance and market position to its competitors. Analyze how KAR Auction is positioned in terms of product offerings, innovation, and market share.
  • Check if KAR Auction pays a dividend and its dividend yield and payout ratio.
  • Review what financial analysts are saying about KAR Auction's stock and their price targets. However, remember that analysts' opinions can vary, and their predictions may not always be accurate.
It's important to note that investing in KAR Auction Services stock, carries risks, and you should carefully consider your investment goals and risk tolerance before making any investment decisions. Also, remember that it's important for investors to have a long-term perspective and a well-diversified portfolio to manage the impact of stock market volatility on their investments. Below is a detailed guide on how to decide if KAR Auction Services is a good investment.
 
Sell
 
Buy
Strong Buy
Our advice module complements current analysts and expert consensus on KAR Auction Services. It analyzes the firm potential to grow using all fundamental, technical, and market related data available today. To make sure KAR Auction Services is not overpriced, please verify all KAR Auction Services fundamentals, including its revenue, cash flow from operations, working capital, as well as the relationship between the cash per share and number of employees . Given that KAR Auction Services has a price to earning of 116.25 X, we recommend you to check KAR Auction market performance and probability of bankruptcy to ensure the company can sustain itself for few more years given your last-minute risk tolerance and investing horizon.

Market Performance

MildDetails

Volatility

Very steadyDetails

Hype Condition

Low keyDetails

Current Valuation

UndervaluedDetails

Odds Of Distress

TinyDetails

Economic Sensitivity

Responds to the marketDetails

Investor Sentiment

AlarmedDetails

Analyst Consensus

BuyDetails

Financial Strenth (F Score)

PoorDetails

Financial Leverage

Not RatedDetails

Reporting Quality (M-Score)

Unlikely ManipulatorDetails

Examine KAR Auction Stock

Researching KAR Auction's stock involves analyzing various aspects of the company and its industry to make an informed investment decision. The key areas to focus on are fundamentals, business model and competitive advantage. It is also important to analyze trends in revenue, net income, and cash flow, as well as key financial ratios, such as price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S), and debt-to-equity (D/E). About 98.0% of the company shares are owned by institutional investors. The book value of KAR Auction was now reported as 13.21. The company has Price/Earnings To Growth (PEG) ratio of 1.34. KAR Auction Services last dividend was issued on the 19th of March 2020. The entity had 2642:1000 split on the 28th of June 2019.
To determine if KAR Auction is a good investment, evaluating the company's potential for future growth is also very important. This may include expanding into new markets, launching new products or services, or improving operational efficiency. Companies with strong growth prospects can be more attractive investments. This aspect of the research should be conducted in the context of the overall market and industry in which the company operates and should include an analysis of growth potential, competitive landscape, and any regulatory or economic factors that could impact the business. Some of the essential points regarding KAR Auction's research are outlined below:
KAR Auction Services is unlikely to experience financial distress in the next 2 years
KAR Auction Services has a poor financial position based on the latest SEC disclosures
Over 98.0% of the company shares are owned by institutional investors
Latest headline from finance.yahoo.com: At US28.26, Is OPENLANE, Inc. Worth Looking At Closely

KAR Auction Quarterly Liabilities And Stockholders Equity

4.64 Billion

KAR Auction uses earnings reports to provide investors with an update of all three financial statements, including the income statement, the balance sheet, and the cash flow statement. Therefore, it is also crucial when considering investing in KAR Auction Services. Every quarterly earnings report provides investors with an overview of sales, expenses, and net income for the most recent period. It also may provide a comparison to KAR Auction's previous reporting period. The quarterly earnings reports are usually disseminated to the public via Form 10-Q, which is a legal document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission every quarter.
20th of February 2024
Upcoming Quarterly Report
View
7th of May 2024
Next Financial Report
View
31st of December 2023
Next Fiscal Quarter End
View
20th of February 2024
Next Fiscal Year End
View
30th of September 2023
Last Quarter Report
View
31st of December 2022
Last Financial Announcement
View
Earnings surprises can significantly impact KAR Auction's stock price both in the short term and over time. Negative earnings surprises usually result in a price decline. However, it has been seen that positive earnings surprises lead to an immediate rise in a stock's price and a gradual increase over time. This is why we often hear news about some companies beating earning projections. Financial analysts spend a large amount of time predicting earnings per share (EPS) along with other important future indicators. Many analysts use forecasting models, management guidance, and additional fundamental information to derive an EPS estimate. Below are the table of largest EPS Surprises KAR Auction's investors have experienced.
Reported
Fiscal Date
Estimated EPS
Reported EPS
Surprise
2021-11-02
2021-09-300.10.08-0.0220 
2024-02-20
2023-12-310.130.160.0323 
2023-11-01
2023-09-300.150.180.0320 
2023-05-02
2023-03-310.090.120.0333 
2012-11-06
2012-09-300.260.23-0.0311 
2010-11-03
2010-09-300.250.280.0312 
2024-11-06
2024-09-300.220.260.0418 
2022-11-01
2022-09-300.130.09-0.0430 

Know KAR Auction's Top Institutional Investors

Have you ever been surprised when a price of an equity instrument such as KAR Auction is soaring high without any particular reason? This is usually happening because many institutional investors are aggressively trading KAR Auction Services backward and forwards among themselves. KAR Auction's institutional investor refers to the entity that pools money to purchase KAR Auction's securities or originate loans. Institutional investors include commercial and private banks, credit unions, insurance companies, pension funds, hedge funds, endowments, and mutual funds. Operating companies that invest excess capital in these types of assets may also be included in the term and may influence corporate governance by exercising voting rights in their investments.
Shares
American Century Companies Inc2025-06-30
2.3 M
Sunriver Management Llc2025-06-30
2.3 M
Cadian Capital Management Lp2025-06-30
2.1 M
Paradice Investment Management Llc2025-06-30
M
Morgan Stanley - Brokerage Accounts2025-06-30
1.8 M
Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc2025-06-30
1.7 M
Northern Trust Corp2025-06-30
1.5 M
Marathon Asset Mgmt Ltd2025-06-30
1.4 M
D. E. Shaw & Co Lp2025-06-30
1.4 M
Blackrock Inc2025-06-30
15.5 M
Vanguard Group Inc2025-06-30
11.8 M
Note, although KAR Auction's institutional investors appear to be way more sophisticated than retail investors, it remains unclear if professional active investment managers can reliably enhance risk-adjusted returns by an amount that exceeds fees and expenses.

KAR Auction's market capitalization trends

The company currently falls under 'Mid-Cap' category with a total capitalization of 3.04 B.

KAR Auction's profitablity analysis

The company has Net Profit Margin of 0.08 %, which implies that it may need a different competitive strategy as even a very small decline in it revenue may erase profits and result in a net loss. This is way below average. In the same way, it shows Net Operating Margin of 0.17 %, which entails that for every 100 dollars of revenue, it generated $0.17 of operating income.
Determining KAR Auction's profitability involves analyzing its financial statements and using various financial metrics to determine if KAR Auction is a good buy. For example, gross profit margin measures KAR Auction's profitability after accounting for the cost of goods sold, while net profit margin measures profitability after accounting for all expenses. Other important metrics include return on assets, return on equity, and free cash flow. By reviewing multiple sources and metrics, you can gain a complete picture of KAR Auction's profitability and make more informed investment decisions.

KAR Auction's Earnings Breakdown by Geography

Evaluate KAR Auction's management efficiency

KAR Auction Services has Return on Asset of 0.0434 % which means that on every $100 spent on assets, it made $0.0434 of profit. This is way below average. In the same way, it shows a return on shareholders' equity (ROE) of 0.0761 %, implying that it generated $0.0761 on every 100 dollars invested. KAR Auction's management efficiency ratios could be used to measure how well KAR Auction manages its routine affairs as well as how well it operates its assets and liabilities. At this time, KAR Auction's Total Assets are relatively stable compared to the past year. As of 10/03/2025, Non Current Assets Total is likely to grow to about 2.6 B, while Other Assets are likely to drop slightly above 50.4 M.
Evaluating the management effectiveness of KAR Auction allows investors to assess its financial health and operational efficiency. Coupled with an analysis of its growth prospects and the current market dynamics, we evaluate the stock's true value and future potential. Key indicators such as revenue, earnings or debt levels are examined alongside external factors like economic trends and regulatory changes. The KAR Stock analysis seeks to determine whether the stock is undervalued, appropriately priced, or overvalued, thereby guiding your investment decisions.
Beta
1.327

Basic technical analysis of KAR Stock

As of the 3rd of October, KAR Auction secures the Market Risk Adjusted Performance of 0.1922, mean deviation of 1.23, and Downside Deviation of 1.19. KAR Auction Services technical analysis lets you operate historical price patterns with an objective to determine a pattern that forecasts the direction of the entity's future prices. Please verify KAR Auction Services variance, value at risk, as well as the relationship between the Value At Risk and skewness to decide if KAR Auction Services is priced fairly, providing market reflects its recent price of 28.35 per share. Given that KAR Auction Services has jensen alpha of 0.1594, we recommend you to check KAR Auction's last-minute market performance to make sure the company can sustain itself in the future.

KAR Auction's insider trading activities

Some recent studies suggest that insider trading raises the cost of capital for securities issuers and decreases overall economic growth. Trading by specific KAR Auction insiders, such as employees or executives, is commonly permitted as long as it does not rely on KAR Auction's material information that is not in the public domain. Local jurisdictions usually require such trading to be reported in order to monitor insider transactions. In many U.S. states, trading conducted by corporate officers, key employees, directors, or significant shareholders must be reported to the regulator or publicly disclosed, usually within a few business days of the trade. In these cases KAR Auction insiders are required to file a Form 4 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) when buying or selling shares of their own companies.

KAR Auction's Outstanding Corporate Bonds

KAR Auction issues bonds to finance its operations. Corporate bonds make up one of the largest components of the U.S. bond market, which is considered the world's largest securities market. KAR Auction Services uses the proceeds from bond sales for a wide variety of purposes, including financing ongoing mergers and acquisitions, buying new equipment, investing in research and development, buying back their own stock, paying dividends to shareholders, and even refinancing existing debt. Most KAR bonds can be classified according to their maturity, which is the date when KAR Auction Services has to pay back the principal to investors. Maturities can be short-term, medium-term, or long-term (more than ten years). Longer-term bonds usually offer higher interest rates but may entail additional risks.

Understand KAR Auction's technical and predictive indicators

Using predictive indicators to make investment decisions involves analyzing KAR Auction's various financial and market-based factors to help forecast future trends and identify investment opportunities. Select the indicators that are most relevant to your investment strategy. Each indicator has its own strengths and weaknesses, so it's essential to combine multiple indicators to get a more comprehensive view of the market and reduce the risk of making poor decisions based on limited data.

Consider KAR Auction's intraday indicators

KAR Auction intraday indicators are useful technical analysis tools used by many experienced traders. Just like the conventional technical analysis, daily indicators help intraday investors to analyze the price movement with the timing of KAR Auction stock daily movement. By combining multiple daily indicators into a single trading strategy, you can limit your risk while still earning strong returns on your managed positions.

KAR Auction Corporate Filings

F4
1st of October 2025
The report filed by a party regarding the acquisition or disposition of a company's common stock, as well as derivative securities such as options, warrants, and convertible securities
ViewVerify
11th of September 2025
Other Reports
ViewVerify
8K
9th of September 2025
Report filed with the SEC to announce major events that shareholders should know about
ViewVerify
F3
28th of May 2025
The report used by insiders such as officers, directors, and major shareholders (beneficial owners holding more than 10% of any class of the company's equity securities) to declare their ownership of a company's stock
ViewVerify
KAR Auction time-series forecasting models is one of many KAR Auction's stock analysis techniques aimed to predict future share value based on previously observed values. Time-series forecasting models ae widely used for non-stationary data. Non-stationary data are called the data whose statistical properties e.g. the mean and standard deviation are not constant over time but instead, these metrics vary over time. These non-stationary KAR Auction's historical data is usually called time-series. Some empirical experimentation suggests that the statistical forecasting models outperform the models based exclusively on fundamental analysis to predict the direction of the market movement and maximize returns from investment trading.

KAR Stock media impact

There is far too much social signal, news, headlines, and media speculation about KAR Auction that are available to investors today. This information is accessible both publicly - through KAR Auction's media outlets and privately, via word of mouth or internal channels. However, regardless of the source, the sheer volume of KAR-related data is difficult to distill into actionable insights, especially for investors who are not well-versed in the rapidly evolving tools and techniques of investment management.
A primary focus of KAR Auction news analysis is to determine if its current price reflects all relevant headlines and social signals impacting the current market conditions. A news analyst typically looks at the history of KAR Auction relative headlines and hype rather than examining external drivers such as technical or fundamental data. It is believed that price action tends to repeat itself due to investors' collective, patterned thinking related to KAR Auction's headlines and news coverage data. This data is often completely overlooked or insufficiently analyzed for actionable insights to drive KAR Auction alpha.

KAR Auction Sentiment by Major News Outlets

Investor sentiment, mood or attitude towards KAR Auction can have a significant impact on its stock price or the market as a whole. This sentiment can be positive or negative, and various factors, such as economic indicators, news events, or market trends, can influence it. When investor sentiment is positive, investors are more likely to buy stocks, increasing demand and increasing the stock price. Positive investor sentiment can be driven by good news about the company or the broader market, such as solid earnings reports or positive economic data.
Note that negative investor sentiment can cause investors to sell stocks, leading to a decrease in demand and a drop in the stock price. Negative sentiment can be driven by factors such as poor earnings reports, negative news about the company or industry, or broader economic concerns. It's important to note that investor sentiment is just one of many factors that can affect stock prices. Other factors, such as company performance, industry trends, and global economic conditions, can also play a significant role in determining the value of a stock.

KAR Auction Services Historical Investor Sentiment

Investor biases related to KAR Auction's public news can be used to forecast risks associated with an investment in KAR. The trend in average sentiment can be used to explain how an investor holding KAR can time the market purely based on public headlines and social activities around KAR Auction Services. Please note that most equities that are difficult to arbitrage are affected by market sentiment the most.
KAR Auction's market sentiment shows the aggregated news analyzed to detect positive and negative mentions from the text and comments. The data is normalized to provide daily scores for KAR Auction and other traded tickers. The bigger the bubble, the more accurate the estimated score. Higher bars for a given day show more participation in the average KAR Auction news discussions. The higher the estimate score, the more favorable the investor's outlook on KAR Auction.

KAR Auction Maximum Pain Price Across November 21st 2025 Option Contracts

KAR Auction's options can also be used to analyze investors' bias and current market sentiment in the context of behavioral finance. For example, Max pain usually refers to a trading concept that asserts that market manipulation can cause the market price of KAR Auction close to the expiration of its current option contract to expire worthlessly. According to most research, about 35% of options are not executed, with roughly 50% traded out before expiration. So, Max pain occurs when market makers reach a net favorable position across all options at a strike price where option holders stand to lose the most money. By contrast, option sellers may reap the most after selling more options than buying, causing them to expire worthlessly. Please continue to view the detailed analysis of KAR Auction's options.

KAR Auction Corporate Directors

Mary SmithIndependent DirectorProfile
Roy MackenzieIndependent DirectorProfile
Carmel GalvinIndependent DirectorProfile
David DiDomenicoIndependent DirectorProfile

Additional Tools for KAR Stock Analysis

When running KAR Auction's price analysis, check to measure KAR Auction's market volatility, profitability, liquidity, solvency, efficiency, growth potential, financial leverage, and other vital indicators. We have many different tools that can be utilized to determine how healthy KAR Auction is operating at the current time. Most of KAR Auction's value examination focuses on studying past and present price action to predict the probability of KAR Auction's future price movements. You can analyze the entity against its peers and the financial market as a whole to determine factors that move KAR Auction's price. Additionally, you may evaluate how the addition of KAR Auction to your portfolios can decrease your overall portfolio volatility.