Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Copart from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Barclays set a $26.00 target price on Copart and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $45.00 target price on Copart in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.50.

Copart Stock Performance

NASDAQ CPRT opened at $30.82 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $28.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.14 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.87. Copart has a one year low of $26.81 and a one year high of $50.11.

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. 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 for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Copart will post 1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Copart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CPRT. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Copart by 1.3% during the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 20,693 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $931,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Legacy Group raised its stake in Copart by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Sierra Legacy Group now owns 13,880 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $543,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Copart by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,310 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Copart by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,395 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. 85.78% of the stock is currently 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.