Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

CAR has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays set a $160.00 price target on shares of Avis Budget Group and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Avis Budget Group from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Avis Budget Group from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Avis Budget Group from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Avis Budget Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $135.57.

Avis Budget Group Price Performance

Shares of CAR opened at $137.84 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $150.15 and its 200-day moving average is $170.79. The company has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.59 and a beta of 1.91. Avis Budget Group has a fifty-two week low of $85.96 and a fifty-two week high of $847.70.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($1.07). The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Avis Budget Group will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pentwater Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Avis Budget Group in the second quarter worth $371,541,000. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 10.7% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,159,993 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $346,841,000 after buying an additional 208,820 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 38.1% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,975,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $253,519,000 after buying an additional 545,574 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 8,329.6% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,810,770 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $267,686,000 after buying an additional 1,789,289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avis Budget Group in the second quarter worth about $247,773,000. Institutional investors own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Avis Budget Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Avis Budget Group this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Investors who purchased Avis securities, including shares bought to cover a short position, between February 20, 2025, and April 21, 2026, have been notified of a September 29, 2026 deadline to seek appointment as lead plaintiff. Multiple firms are soliciting affected investors, but the notices do not indicate that a court has determined liability. Rosen investor deadline notice
• Negative Sentiment: The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Florida, alleges that Pentwater Capital Management LP and founder, CEO and CIO Matthew Halbower violated federal securities laws through alleged market-manipulation, pump-and-dump activity, and misleading statements related to an Avis short squeeze. The allegations remain unproven. Pomerantz class action announcement
• Negative Sentiment: According to the investor notices, Pentwater allegedly built a 51% economic interest in Avis before selling 4.3 million shares for approximately $1.75 billion, potentially leaving other shareholders with losses. The claims could create uncertainty around Avis’s investor relations, reputation and potential litigation exposure, although the reported action primarily targets Pentwater and Halbower. Shareholder alert on alleged Pentwater activity
• Negative Sentiment: The unusually large number of law-firm announcements over the past two days keeps the allegations in the market’s focus and may amplify volatility in CAR, which already has a high beta and recently traded below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.

Avis Budget Group Company Profile

Avis Budget Group, Inc operates as a leading global provider of vehicle rental and mobility solutions. Through its two core brands, Avis® and Budget®, the company offers a broad range of rental options including daily, weekly and monthly car rentals for leisure and business travelers. In addition to traditional airport and off-airport car rental services, Avis Budget Group delivers innovative mobility platforms such as car-sharing programs and connected fleet solutions designed to meet the evolving needs of corporate, government and individual customers.

The company’s roots trace back to Avis Rent a Car, founded in 1946, and Budget Rent a Car, established in 1958.