Brokerages Set Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) Target Price at $47.60

Shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $47.60.

CPRT has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Copart from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 24th. CJS Securities raised Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Copart from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $33.00 price target (up from $32.00) on shares of Copart in a research note on Friday, November 21st.

Copart Stock Performance

Copart stock opened at $39.88 on Tuesday. Copart has a fifty-two week low of $37.41 and a fifty-two week high of $63.85. The stock has a market cap of $38.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.32 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $39.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.18.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last released its 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. Copart had a return on equity of 17.78% and a net margin of 34.24%.The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Copart will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Copart

In other Copart news, Director Thomas N. Tryforos sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.07, for a total value of $3,907,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 25,137 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.17, for a total value of $1,009,753.29. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,970 shares in the company, valued at $2,248,314.90. This trade represents a 30.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 9.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Copart

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Copart by 2.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,990,652 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,901,310,000 after purchasing an additional 2,581,784 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Copart by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 40,175,058 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,806,674,000 after buying an additional 1,236,101 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Copart by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,062,931 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,666,720,000 after buying an additional 656,428 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Copart by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,462,076 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $999,305,000 after acquiring an additional 656,333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Copart in the 2nd quarter worth $549,448,000. 85.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.