Carvana Insiders Sold $8.66 Million in Stock Ahead of Late-April Earnings

NEW YORK, April 18 —

Carvana Co. (CVNA) insiders sold $8.66 million in stock over the past 90 days. Not one insider bought a single share, according to Form 4 filings with the SEC. Most of the selling happened on a single day. On April 1, CFO Mark Jenkins and COO Benjamin Huston together filed over 40 separate open-market transactions, unloading roughly $7 million in shares. The stock has since climbed to $387. The executives left money on the table — unless they preferred the certainty of cash.

The April 1 Fire Sale

The timing is what stands out. Jenkins and Huston didn't spread their sales over weeks. They both sold on April 1, splitting their orders into dozens of small lots that filled across a $25 price range. Jenkins exercised options on 12,750 shares at strike prices of $10.07, $42.03, and $51.97, then immediately sold 12,450 shares on the open market. Huston did the same: exercise 10,000 options at $10.07, sell 9,700 shares into the market. The math is straightforward. Jenkins paid roughly $10-$52 per share and sold near $300. He chose to pocket the difference rather than hold.

They weren't alone. VP of Accounting Stephen Palmer sold 1,000 shares at $317.50 that same day. A week later, President of Special Projects Thomas Taira sold 3,770 shares at $341.00 for $1.29 million. Other C-suite members hit mandatory tax-withholding dispositions on April 1 at $312.09 per share: CEO Ernest Garcia III surrendered 4,537 shares ($1.42 million), Chief Product Officer Daniel Gill gave up 4,954 shares ($1.55 million), and Chief Brand Officer Ryan Keeton parted with 1,892 shares ($590,000).

What the Valuation Demands

Carvana trades at $387.53, giving it a market cap of $85.5 billion. Trailing twelve-month revenue hit $20.3 billion on 58% year-over-year growth — genuinely rare for a company this size. Gross margin stands at 20.6%. Free cash flow is $250 million. Those numbers justify a growth premium. But at 36.7x forward earnings on $250 million in free cash flow, the market is pricing every dollar of cash flow at roughly $342. That leaves almost no room for a stumble.

Recent earnings show why that matters. Carvana crushed estimates in Q4 2025, posting $1.51 versus $0.65 expected. Q3 2025 beat too: $1.28 versus $1.05. But Q2 2025 came in at $1.03 against $1.32 expected — a miss that showed this turnaround still produces uneven quarters. At 36.7x forward earnings, one bad print reprices the stock fast. The consensus analyst target sits at $423, only 9% above current levels. That's thin upside for the risk baked into the multiple.

Catalysts That Could Change the Picture

Two events are directly ahead. Late-April earnings will show whether Q1 sustained the Q4 momentum or reverted to the lumpier pattern. Then in May, shareholders vote on a proposed stock split — the kind of corporate action that pulls in retail buyers regardless of fundamentals. News reports also point to a partnership with Root Inc. that has crossed 200,000 insurance policies, a tie-up cited as driving a recent 7% stock gain. Bundling insurance into car purchases makes strategic sense, but 200,000 policies for a company selling hundreds of thousands of cars per year is still small.

The board, separately, granted RSU awards to five directors on April 14: Gregory Sullivan, J. Danforth Quayle, Michael Maroone, Neha Parikh, and Ira Platt. That's standard board compensation, not a directional signal. But the split is worth noting: the people running the company sold, while the directors overseeing them received fresh equity. GuruFocus rates the stock overvalued with a GF Score of 70 out of 100. A Barron's roundup recently listed CVNA among 14 stocks to sell short.

What to Watch From Here

The bear case isn't that Carvana is a bad business. Revenue growth of 58% at this scale is rare. The bear case is that the CFO and COO looked at the stock near $300 and chose cash over shares. Since then, the stock has run another 25% higher without new fundamental news. An $85.5 billion market cap on $250 million in free cash flow requires margins to expand sharply and growth to barely slow. Both could happen. But the people closest to the financial statements decided not to wait.

The late-April earnings report is the next test. A beat resets the narrative. A miss at this multiple will hurt. The insider selling pattern matters — not because executives always sell at the top, but because a coordinated, zero-purchase quarter from the entire C-suite tells you something about how the people with the best information feel about these prices.

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Basis Report does not hold positions in securities discussed. This is not investment advice.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much stock did Carvana insiders sell in the past 90 days?

Carvana insiders were net sellers of $8.66 million in stock over the past 90 days, with zero insider purchases during the period. The largest sellers were CFO Mark Jenkins (~$3.96 million) and COO Benjamin Huston (~$3.0 million), both of whom sold on April 1, 2026.

What is Carvana's current valuation and how does it compare to fundamentals?

Carvana trades at $387.53 with a market cap of $85.5 billion, a forward P/E of 36.7x, and trailing twelve-month revenue of $20.3 billion. Free cash flow stands at $250 million, meaning the market values each dollar of FCF at roughly $342. The consensus analyst price target is $423.

What upcoming catalysts could affect Carvana's stock price?

Two near-term events are in focus: a late-April earnings report that will test whether Q1 sustained Q4's momentum, and a May shareholder vote on a proposed stock split. The company also recently crossed 200,000 insurance policies through its Root Inc. partnership.

Has Carvana been beating or missing earnings estimates?

The record is mixed. Carvana beat EPS estimates in Q4 2025 ($1.51 actual vs. $0.65 expected) and Q3 2025 ($1.28 vs. $1.05), but missed in Q2 2025 ($1.03 vs. $1.32 expected), showing the earnings trajectory remains uneven.

Why did the CFO and COO exercise stock options and immediately sell?

CFO Mark Jenkins exercised options on 12,750 shares at strike prices ranging from $10.07 to $51.97, then sold 12,450 shares at market prices near $296-$321. COO Benjamin Huston exercised 10,000 options at $10.07 and sold 9,700 shares. This exercise-and-sell pattern locks in gains from deeply in-the-money options.