Carvana stock surged by 6% by the market’s close on Wednesday after experiencing an already turbulent week and year. The online car retailer’s stock has skyrocketed by over 200% for the year to date.
Having been heavily shorted with 67% of its float consisting of short interest, investors expect that the so far unprofitable company will not be able to shift its fortunes, with its stocks subsequently declining.
“CVNA’s price move has made it one of the most squeezable stocks in the U.S.”, S3’s Ihor Dusaniwsky said of Carvana. Douglas Arthur, managing director at Huber Research Partners, agrees with the broad consensus on Carvana, commenting, “Based on my fourth quarter expectations, I expect them [Carvana] to lose $2 billion in 2022 on the bottom line. The equity market is largely shut off, and the bond market is largely shut off, so where is the money going to come from if they run out of money?”
Despite the stock’s surge in 2023, it has still not been able to reach its historic high of $370.10 achieved in August 2021.