Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) Raised to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

CPRT has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $32.00 target price (down from $33.00) on shares of Copart in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Copart in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Copart from $45.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $48.00 target price on Copart and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.40.

Copart Stock Performance

Shares of Copart stock traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $33.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,285,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,006,108. Copart has a one year low of $32.20 and a one year high of $63.85. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.38. The stock has a market cap of $31.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.69 and a beta of 1.14.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The business services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. Copart had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 16.68%. Copart’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Copart will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 26,213 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.18, for a total transaction of $869,747.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 79,532 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,638,871.76. The trade was a 24.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Copart

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Copart by 92.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,215 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $816,000 after purchasing an additional 6,817 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Copart by 365.8% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,118 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 878 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Copart during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,677,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Copart by 110.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 900,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $44,179,000 after buying an additional 471,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in shares of Copart by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 413,083 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,270,000 after buying an additional 13,860 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

About Copart

Copart (NASDAQ: CPRT) is a global provider of online vehicle auction and remarketing services, focused primarily on the sale of salvage and clean-title vehicles. The company operates a technology-driven auction platform that connects sellers — including insurance companies, vehicle finance firms, rental car companies, dealerships and fleet owners — with a broad buyer base consisting of vehicle dismantlers, recyclers, rebuilders and retail buyers. Copart’s business model centers on efficient vehicle disposition using digital bidding and logistics services to maximize recovery value for its clients.

Core services include hosting live and timed online auctions, vehicle listing and inspection support, title processing, and transportation and storage solutions.