Fiera Capital Corp Buys 1,776,968 Shares of Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Fiera Capital Corp increased its stake in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 25.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,777,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,776,968 shares during the period. Copart comprises about 1.3% of Fiera Capital Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Fiera Capital Corp owned about 0.91% of Copart worth $394,720,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CPRT. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Copart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Copart during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Copart by 1,063.0% during the second quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 628 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC raised its position in Copart by 125.2% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 653 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in Copart by 54.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 730 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. 85.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed 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. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Copart from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 21st. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Copart from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Copart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.60.

Key Stories Impacting Copart

Here are the key news stories impacting Copart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Profitability held up: Copart reported a strong net margin (~34.24%) and solid return on equity (17.78%), with net income of about $350.7M for the quarter — indicating the business still generates high-margin cash flow despite volume pressures. BusinessWire Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Conference call / transcript available for color: Management discussed business conditions and unit trends on the Q2 call; read the full transcript for guidance details and commentary on demand drivers. Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: EPS missed estimates: Copart reported $0.36 EPS vs. consensus of roughly $0.39–$0.40, a clear earnings surprise that weighed on sentiment. Zacks Article
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed and fell year-over-year: Revenue was $1.12B vs. analyst expectations near $1.15B, and revenue declined ~3.6% YoY — a sign of weaker unit volumes and pricing/volume mix pressure. Press Release (BusinessWire PDF)
• Negative Sentiment: Management flagged unit-volume headwinds and the market reacted: previews and post-earnings coverage highlight that unit volumes remain a headwind for near-term growth, and the stock dropped on the news with elevated traded volume. Benzinga Coverage

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas N. Tryforos sold 100,000 shares of Copart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.07, for a total transaction of $3,907,000.00. The sale 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 30.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 9.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Copart Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ CPRT opened at $37.65 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.96 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $39.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.65. Copart, Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.52 and a 1 year high of $63.85.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The business services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. Copart had a return on equity of 17.78% and a net margin of 34.24%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS 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.