Copart Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:CPRT)

Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock traders bought 12,791 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 381% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,662 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 27,745 shares of Copart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.49, for a total value of $845,945.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 9.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Copart

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Copart in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,908,980,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Copart during the second quarter valued at approximately $488,663,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Copart during the second quarter valued at approximately $436,413,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Copart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $569,569,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Copart during the second quarter worth approximately $167,000,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

Copart Price Performance

NASDAQ:CPRT traded up $2.22 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $31.61. 17,352,821 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,897,364. Copart has a twelve month low of $26.81 and a twelve month high of $50.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $29.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.98.

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

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.