Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) CEO Sells 25,137 Shares

Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 25,137 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.17, for a total transaction of $1,009,753.29. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,248,314.90. The trade was a 30.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Copart Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of CPRT stock traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $41.00. The stock had a trading volume of 5,938,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,526,881. Copart, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.41 and a 52-week high of $63.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.68 billion, a PE ratio of 25.00 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $39.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.94.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The business services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. Copart had a return on equity of 17.78% and a net margin of 34.24%.Copart’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.37 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on CPRT shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Copart in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Copart from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (up from $32.00) on shares of Copart in a report on Friday, November 21st. CJS Securities upgraded Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Copart from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.60.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Copart

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Copart during the second quarter valued at $549,448,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Copart by 298.2% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,887,359 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $217,243,000 after buying an additional 3,660,031 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Copart by 2,266.7% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,689,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $165,895,000 after buying an additional 3,533,133 shares in the last quarter. Akre Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Copart by 253.1% in the 3rd quarter. Akre Capital Management LLC now owns 4,236,760 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $190,527,000 after acquiring an additional 3,036,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp raised its stake in Copart by 75.3% during the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 7,000,430 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $343,511,000 after acquiring an additional 3,007,820 shares during the period. 85.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Copart Company Profile

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.