Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) Shares Up 6.7% – Here’s Why

Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT)’s share price shot up 6.7% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $31.15 and last traded at $31.3550. Approximately 3,665,264 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 10,085,899 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.39.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CPRT shares. Freedom Capital raised Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Barclays set a $26.00 target price on shares of Copart and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Copart in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $45.00 price target on shares of Copart in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Copart from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Copart presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.50.

Copart Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $29.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.52 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.98.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The business services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.02. Copart had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 33.48%.The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Copart, Inc. will post 1.58 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Copart news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 27,745 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.49, for a total transaction of $845,945.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 99,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,038,054.09. This represents a 21.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 9.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Copart

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CPRT. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Copart by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 20,693 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $931,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Copart by 23.8% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,384 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Copart by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,395 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Copart by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,793 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Trust boosted its stake in shares of Copart by 2.1% in the third quarter. American Trust now owns 14,230 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $640,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.