Short Interest in Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) Drops By 7.1%

Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,560,000 shares, a decrease of 7.1% from the January 15th total of 11,370,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,850,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Copart Stock Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ CPRT traded up $0.20 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $59.59. The stock had a trading volume of 3,188,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,300,968. The company has a market capitalization of $57.42 billion, a PE ratio of 41.96 and a beta of 1.33. Copart has a twelve month low of $48.05 and a twelve month high of $64.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $58.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.56.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The business services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.37. Copart had a net margin of 31.92% and a return on equity of 18.96%. The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Copart will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Copart from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Copart

In other news, Director Daniel J. Englander sold 235,480 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.84, for a total value of $13,384,683.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Matt Blunt sold 50,000 shares of Copart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.66, for a total value of $2,883,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 650,213 shares of company stock valued at $39,199,813 over the last quarter. 9.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Copart

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in Copart by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 9,747 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank grew its position in shares of Copart by 59.5% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 472 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Cadence Bank increased its stake in shares of Copart by 0.6% during the third quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 31,549 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,653,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in Copart by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 6,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everpar Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Copart by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 4,811 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. 85.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Copart

Copart, Inc provides online auctions and vehicle remarketing services. It offers a range of services for processing and selling vehicles over the Internet through its Virtual Bidding Third Generation Internet auction-style sales technology on behalf of vehicle sellers, insurance companies, banks and finance companies, charities, and fleet operators and dealers, as well as individual owners.