NEW YORK, January 3, 2026, 04:22 ET — Market closed
- Carvana shares closed down 5.2% on Friday, underperforming U.S. stocks’ first session of 2026.
- Filings showed a trust and a company insider disclosed plans to sell small blocks of shares under SEC Rule 144.
- Traders head into Monday watching key U.S. data after the holiday lull, including the ISM factory report and Friday’s jobs numbers.
Carvana Co shares fell 5.2% on Friday to $400.25, the last close before U.S. markets shut for the weekend.
The drop left Carvana lagging a broader market that started 2026 with modest gains, putting the spotlight back on single-stock catalysts after thin holiday trading.
That matters for Carvana because the stock has become a high-volatility gauge of risk appetite, and investors are looking for fresh signals early in the new year. “The market is looking for direction,” Matthew Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak, told Reuters. Reuters
Late Friday, a Form 144 notice showed BHJC Trust disclosed a proposed sale of 10,000 Carvana shares, with an aggregate market value listed at about $4.22 million. The filing listed Morgan Stanley Smith Barney as the broker and indicated the shares were acquired through a stock-option exercise on Jan. 2.
A separate Form 144 filing showed Carvana insider Mark Jenkins disclosed a proposed sale of 12,750 shares, with an aggregate market value listed at about $5.38 million, also through Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. The notice said the shares were acquired on Jan. 2 via a stock-option exercise paid in cash.
A Form 144 is a notice tied to SEC Rule 144, which governs how insiders and other affiliates can resell shares; it does not mean the stock has already been sold. Based on the share count shown in the filings, the two proposed sales total about 0.02% of shares outstanding.
In the broader used-vehicle space on Friday, CarMax rose 1.7% while ACV Auctions gained about 3.7%; OPENLANE (OPLN) fell 1.9%, according to market data.
Carvana has also drawn steady attention since it joined the S&P 500 in December, a move that can increase demand from index funds and other passive strategies.
Before Monday’s open, investors will be watching a packed U.S. calendar, starting with the ISM manufacturing survey on Jan. 5 and then the U.S. employment report on Jan. 9. The consumer price index follows on Jan. 13, all data points that can shift rate expectations and, by extension, consumer-finance names tied to auto demand.
Further out, the Federal Reserve’s next policy meeting is scheduled for Jan. 27–28, with markets focused on how policymakers balance slowing job growth signals with inflation that is still above target.
For Carvana-specific catalysts, the company has not posted a confirmed next earnings date on its primary listings, but Nasdaq’s calendar currently estimates a report around Feb. 18. Investors typically focus on retail units, gross profit per unit and adjusted EBITDA, a cashflow-style measure of operating performance.
On the chart, Friday’s close left the stock below its 52-week high of $485.33 and above its 52-week low of $148.25, with $400 a near-term round-number level traders often watch.
