Online auto companies’ trends show some improvement in May, says JMP Securities

JMP Securities analyst Nicholas Jones tells investors in a research note that overall industry dynamics for online auto companies continue to normalize, with Carvana’s (CVNA) website traffic remaining the most challenged in May, with visits down 38% year-over-year. Meanwhile, the firm says visits to ACV Auctions (ACVA) increased 32% y/y in May, while CarGurus (CARG) saw visits up 15% y/y in May. Continued industry normalization, particularly the return of unit price declines, may serve as a challenge to the online auto companies heading into 2H23, JMP Securities said. The firm made no change to its Outperform ratings on Carvana and ACV Auctions and Market Perform rating on CarGurus.