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

Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $44.50.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CPRT shares. Zacks Research upgraded Copart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Copart from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $45.00 target price on shares of Copart in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th.

Copart Price Performance

NASDAQ CPRT opened at $30.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $27.78 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.29. Copart has a 1-year low of $27.84 and a 1-year high of $50.11.

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

Insider Transactions at Copart

In other Copart news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 26,213 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.18, for a total value of $869,747.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 79,532 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,638,871.76. This represents a 24.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Copart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $569,569,000. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Copart by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 27,728,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,085,588,000 after buying an additional 5,555,101 shares during the period. Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Copart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $195,637,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in Copart by 94.0% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 9,955,661 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $389,764,000 after acquiring an additional 4,823,111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Copart by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 21,982,589 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $860,618,000 after acquiring an additional 3,918,610 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.