Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the nine analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $43.50.

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Copart in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays set a $26.00 price target on shares of Copart and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Zacks Research cut Copart from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $45.00 target price on Copart in a research report on Friday, May 22nd.

Insider Activity at Copart

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 27,745 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.49, for a total value of $845,945.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 99,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,038,054.09. This represents a 21.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Copart

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Copart by 14.0% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 333,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,076,000 after buying an additional 41,060 shares in the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions lifted its position in Copart by 82.5% during the 4th quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 199,794 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,822,000 after buying an additional 90,339 shares in the last quarter. Davidson Kahn Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Copart by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. Davidson Kahn Capital Management LLC now owns 100,151 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,921,000 after buying an additional 36,091 shares in the last quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Copart during the 4th quarter worth about $2,637,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Copart by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 507,255 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $19,859,000 after acquiring an additional 34,410 shares in the last quarter. 85.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Copart Stock Performance

Shares of CPRT opened at $29.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $26.96 billion, a PE ratio of 18.09 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $29.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.76. Copart has a twelve month low of $26.81 and a twelve month high of $50.11.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. Copart had a net margin of 33.48% and a return on equity of 16.63%. Copart’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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.