Needham analyst Brad Erickson initiated coverage of Carvana with a Buy rating and $105 price target. The company offers a "more compelling" car buying experience that should lead to "significant" further value creation over the next several years, Erickson tells investors in a research note. While financing concerns will remain an overhang on shares, Carvana's footprint expansion and execution should illuminate how underappreciated the company's gross profit potential is at current levels, says the analyst.

Bullish option flow detected in Carvana with 22,528 calls trading, 1.4x expected, and implied vol increasing over 1 point to 103.82%. May-24 75 calls and May-24 90 calls are the most active options, with total volume in those strikes near 5,200 contracts. The Put/Call Ratio is 0.41. Earnings are expected on May 1st.

JPMorgan raised the firm's price target on Carvana to $70 from $65 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The analyst expects Carvana's Q1 EBITDA to come in at $180M, well ahead of consensus estimates of $122M, driven by strong volume growth, benefiting partially from partner inventory and strong commercial de-fleeting, as well as its ongoing efforts to return to growth while sustaining healthy unit economics. The firm continues to see meaningful upside to standing consensus estimates even beyond Q1. It believes Carvana's "ongoing strong revision trajectory should be enough to support shares."