Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $43.50.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $45.00 price target on Copart in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays set a $26.00 price objective on Copart and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Zacks Research downgraded Copart from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Copart in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th.

Copart Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:CPRT opened at $29.35 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.64. The firm has a market cap of $27.17 billion, a PE ratio of 18.23 and a beta of 1.01. Copart has a 12-month low of $26.81 and a 12-month high of $50.11.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The business services provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. Copart had a net margin of 33.48% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Copart will post 1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 27,745 shares of the firm’s 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 $3,038,054.09. This trade represents a 21.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Copart by 92.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,215 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $816,000 after acquiring an additional 6,817 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Copart by 365.8% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,118 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 878 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Copart during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,677,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Copart by 110.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 900,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $44,179,000 after purchasing an additional 471,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in shares of Copart by 3.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 13,860 shares during the last quarter. 85.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.