$CAR

Simhambhatla Ravi (EVP, CDIO - see remarks) sold 4,702 shares of AVIS BUDGET GROUP, INC. (CAR) at an average of $138.79 ($138.27–$140.27, $0.65M total) across 3 trades on 2026-08-07.

CAR Group Ltd shares rose about 10% to A$29.70 after the carsales.com.au owner reported FY26 net profit after tax of A$314m, up 14%, and proforma revenue of A$1.253b, up 12% in constant currency. Adjusted NPAT was A$407m. The company lifted the final dividend to 43.5c and guided FY27 revenue growth of 11% to 14% and earnings growth of 10% to 13%.

CAR Group, the owner of Carsales, said its results were broadly in line with forecasts and its outlook matched expectations, according to the company. The stock rose about 10% on Monday, with a short squeeze forcing some hedge funds to buy shares to cover earlier than expected.

The ASX 200 fell 0.43% to 9,223.7 at 2:30 p.m. AEST on Monday as a selloff in major banks offset gains in mining, healthcare, gold and tech. Westpac shares dropped after a soft Q3 update, and the sector dragged the big four. Element Fleet Management lodged an indicative $3.80 cash bid for FleetPartners, while Treasury Wine Estates disclosed a $558.4m post-tax charge.

A weekly ASX short-selling recap (data lagged 4 days) lists the 10 most shorted stocks and the biggest changes in short interest. Healius entered the top ten, replacing Treasury Wine. Lotus Resources saw a 57.5% one-day short-interest dip after a $60m raise at 22c. Web Travel Group’s short interest fell ahead of a guidance beat and up to $90m buyback; shares rose 17.1%.

Avis Budget Group said it cut its Americas fleet after forward bookings and inbound travel for summer trailed initial expectations, citing weaker TSA passenger trends and fewer overseas visitors. Q2 Americas revenue fell 1.9% while adjusted EBITDA rose 7.7%. The company kept full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance at $850M to $1B and expects a similar mid-single-digit fleet decline in Q3.

Avis Budget Group shares fell 6.2% to $142.50 after a second-quarter earnings miss, according to the company and reported results. EPS was $0.98, 46.2% below analyst estimates. Revenue was $3.00B for the quarter ended June 2026, but the bottom-line miss drove the sell-off.

Sep WTI crude oil prices (CLU26) jumped by more than +6% on Wednesday as the recent lull in hostilities came to an abrupt end after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it targeted a US airbase and command center in Jordan with ballistic missiles. The IRGC also claimed to have hit and halted three tankers attempting to transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

US MBA mortgage applications fell -6.4% in the week ended July 24, with the purchase mortgage sub-index down -3.6% and the refinancing mortgage sub-index down -9.9%. The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage rose +7 bp to an 11.5-month high of 6.76% from 6.69% the prior week. The outlook for strong Q2 earnings, which continue this week, is a bullish factor for stocks.

The outlook for strong Q2 earnings, which continue this week, is a bullish factor for stocks. The markets are awaiting results from a raft of megacap technology companies this week, including Microsoft and Meta Platforms today, and Amazon.com and Apple on Thursday. Forecasts compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence suggest Q2 earnings may increase by +23%, close to Q1's blowout earnings of +30%, which was more than double the +12% analysts had expected.