Carvana stock surges on S&P 500 inclusion, marking dramatic turnaround

Core Viewpoint - Carvana's stock experienced a significant surge of up to 10% following its announcement to join the S&P 500, indicating a remarkable turnaround for the company that was previously heavily shorted [1] Group 1: Stock Performance and Market Position - Carvana's shares reached a high of $438 ahead of its inclusion in the S&P 500 on December 22, 2023, as part of the Consumer Discretionary category [1] - The stock has increased over 10,000% from its all-time lows of below $4 in December 2022, when the company faced bankruptcy speculation [5][6] - Analysts from BofA reiterated a Buy rating on Carvana and raised the price target to $455 from $385, citing the company's consistent profit performance and market share gains against competitor CarMax [2] Group 2: Financial Performance and Growth Strategy - Carvana reported a net income margin of 4.7%, which is more than double the industry average for the quarter [4] - The company aims to sell 3 million cars within the next 5 to 10 years, reaffirming its long-term growth strategy [1] - BofA analysts expect Carvana to surpass CarMax in quarterly units sold by 2026, indicating strong future growth potential [3][4] Group 3: Consumer Behavior and Adoption - Over 30% of buyers now complete their entire transaction online without interacting with a customer advocate until pickup or delivery, while more than 60% of sellers do the same, highlighting the growing adoption of Carvana's fully online model [4]