Copart’s (CPRT) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at BNP Paribas Exane

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by equities researchers at BNP Paribas Exane in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $43.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $40.00. BNP Paribas Exane’s target price points to a potential upside of 57.77% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Freedom Broker dropped their price target on shares of Copart from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 14th. HSBC downgraded Copart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $36.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Zacks Research raised Copart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $40.00 target price on Copart in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Copart from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Copart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.80.

Copart Price Performance

NASDAQ:CPRT traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $27.25. 2,826,300 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,224,753. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $30.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. Copart has a twelve month low of $26.81 and a twelve month high of $45.89.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 10th. The business services provider reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Copart had a net margin of 31.81% and a return on equity of 15.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Copart will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Copart

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 27,745 shares of Copart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.49, for a total transaction of $845,945.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 99,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,038,054.09. This trade represents a 21.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 9.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Copart

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CPRT. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Copart by 14.0% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 333,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,076,000 after buying an additional 41,060 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Copart by 6.4% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 578,452 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,307,000 after purchasing an additional 34,855 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Copart during the second quarter valued at $1,298,000. Mill Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Copart in the 2nd quarter worth about $12,711,000. Finally, Barbara Oil Co. acquired a new stake in Copart during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,585,000. Institutional investors own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

About Copart

Copart, Inc (NASDAQ: CPRT) provides online vehicle auction and remarketing services. The company operates a global marketplace where damaged, recovered, used and other vehicles are sold primarily through online auctions. Its offerings include salvage and clean-title vehicles, with inventory sourced from insurance companies, banks, dealerships, fleet operators, rental companies, government agencies and other organizations.

Copart supports the vehicle remarketing process through inspection, storage, transportation, title processing and auction services.