Carvana, the online used-car retailer that last week was the target of a short-selling research report, got its first broker upgrade since then which says the controversy has sparked a buying opportunity.

The report centers on Carvana's practice of loan sales as well as the business relationship between CEO Ernie Garcia III and his father, Ernest Garcia II.

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers.

Acknowledging that there is skepticism surrounding its business model and ability to sustain profitability targets, RBC Capital joins the growing list of bulls in support of Carvana, raising its rating on the stock to Outperform from Sector Perform on the upside potential to retail unit estimates and a clearer path to durable free cash flow.