Copart’s (CPRT) Equal Weight Rating Reiterated at Stephens

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Stephens in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $35.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock. Stephens’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 3.40% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research cut Copart from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $45.00 target price on Copart in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays set a $26.00 target price on shares of Copart and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Copart in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.67.

Copart Stock Up 7.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:CPRT opened at $33.85 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $29.37 and a 200 day moving average of $32.74. The company has a market capitalization of $31.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.02 and a beta of 1.01. Copart has a 52 week low of $26.81 and a 52 week high of $50.11.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The business services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.02. Copart had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 33.48%.The business had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Copart will post 1.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 27,745 shares of the business’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 owned 99,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,038,054.09. The trade was a 21.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 9.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Copart

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Copart by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 20,693 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $931,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Copart by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,384 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Copart by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,395 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Copart by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,793 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Trust increased its holdings in shares of Copart by 2.1% in the third quarter. American Trust now owns 14,230 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $640,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

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.