(Update: Headline, current prices, chart analysis, additional analyst commentary.)
FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Robust quarterly figures and another upward revision of its annual targets failed to provide Auto1 with lasting share price momentum on Wednesday. After wild swings that briefly pushed the stock close to its one-month-old four-year high of EUR31.50, shares ultimately closed down 2.5 percent at EUR28.44.
This extended the sharp profit-taking seen on Tuesday for the online used car dealer's shares. The stock also fell below its 21- and 50-day moving averages, key indicators for short- to medium-term trends. Nevertheless, Auto1 shares have still gained about 82 percent so far this year, placing them among the top ten performers in the MDax, the index of Germany's mid-cap listed companies.
In the third quarter, Auto1 increased sales by nearly a quarter to a record level and raised its annual sales target once again. Revenue and adjusted operating earnings (Ebitda)--for which the company also revised guidance upward--rose even more sharply last quarter. All key figures exceeded analysts' expectations.
Analyst Marcus Diebel of US bank JPMorgan, along with his counterparts at Swiss banking giant UBS, described it as another strong quarter. However, Diebel noted that the upgraded outlook had already been anticipated. According to Wassachon Udomsilpa of Canadian bank RBC, consensus estimates for sales now sit at the lower end of the company's newly raised target ranges, while Ebitda estimates are at the upper end./gl/niw/stk/ajx/stk
