On June 17, CarMax rose 5.74% in pre-market trading, trading at $55.0/share, with turnover of approximately $1.69 million. The move was driven by Truist Securities raising its price target on CarMax from $37 to $47 while maintaining a hold rating, alongside improved expectations for Q1 comparable used-vehicle sales.

Truist noted that Q1 comparable used-vehicle sales are now expected to come in flat, a significant improvement from the prior forecast of a 3% decline. The brokerage indicated that flat comps would imply a two-year acceleration to 8% from approximately 3%, though this remains far below the roughly 30% growth rate posted by competitor Carvana. Truist also raised its Q1 EPS estimate to $1.06 from $1.03. However, the firm highlighted that investors are still assessing how much gross profit per unit was sacrificed to achieve the improved sales trajectory.

CarMax is scheduled to report Q1 results before market open today. Consensus estimates previously pointed to EPS declining approximately 20.76% year-over-year and EBIT falling roughly 23.21%, with the market focused on whether the company can demonstrate profit quality improvement under its volume-driven pricing strategy. The average analyst price target stands at $38.83 according to FactSet.

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