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

Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $44.40.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CPRT shares. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $32.00 target price (down from $33.00) on shares of Copart in a research note on Monday. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research cut shares of Copart from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Copart from $45.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $48.00 price target on Copart and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th.

Insider Transactions at Copart

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 25,137 shares of Copart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.17, for a total transaction of $1,009,753.29. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 55,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,248,314.90. This trade represents a 30.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 9.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Copart

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Copart by 564.8% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,523,773 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $98,806,000 after acquiring an additional 2,144,147 shares during the last quarter. Copos Capital S.a r.l. purchased a new stake in shares of Copart in the fourth quarter worth about $459,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Copart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Compound Planning Inc. boosted its position in shares of Copart by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 5,814 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Copart by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,586,115 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $453,596,000 after acquiring an additional 654,244 shares during the last quarter. 85.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Copart Stock Performance

Shares of Copart stock opened at $38.09 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $36.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.81 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $39.18 and its 200 day moving average is $42.23. Copart has a one year low of $33.81 and a one year high of $63.85.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The business services provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.03). Copart had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 33.76%.The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.40 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Copart will post 1.57 EPS for the current 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.