Freedom Broker Cuts Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) Price Target to $36.00

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) had its price objective trimmed by Freedom Broker from $39.00 to $36.00 in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on CPRT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Copart from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $40.00 in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Copart from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of Copart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 7th. Barclays set a $25.00 target price on shares of Copart and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Copart in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Copart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.22.

Copart Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of CPRT opened at $30.82 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $28.53 billion, a PE ratio of 19.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. Copart has a 12 month low of $26.81 and a 12 month high of $47.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $30.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.94.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 10th. The business services provider reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). Copart had a return on equity of 15.93% and a net margin of 31.81%.The business had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Copart will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Copart

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 27,745 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Copart

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CPRT. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Copart by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 333,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,076,000 after purchasing an additional 41,060 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in Copart by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 578,452 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,307,000 after buying an additional 34,855 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Copart in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,298,000. Mill Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Copart in the 2nd quarter worth about $12,711,000. Finally, Barbara Oil Co. purchased a new stake in Copart during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,585,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

Copart Company Profile

Copart, Inc (NASDAQ: CPRT) provides online vehicle auction and remarketing services. The company operates a global marketplace where damaged, recovered, used and other vehicles are sold primarily through online auctions. Its offerings include salvage and clean-title vehicles, with inventory sourced from insurance companies, banks, dealerships, fleet operators, rental companies, government agencies and other organizations.

Copart supports the vehicle remarketing process through inspection, storage, transportation, title processing and auction services.