Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Copart, Inc. has received an average consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from six brokerages, with a 1-year target price of $54.50.
• Recent stock activities include CEO Jeffrey Liaw selling 24,088 shares, reducing his ownership by 43.31%, while Director Thomas N. Tryforos sold 228,840 shares, valued at over $10 million.
• In its recent earnings report, Copart reported $1.13 billion in revenue and earnings per share of $0.41, exceeding analyst expectations.

Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $54.50.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CPRT shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Copart from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Stephens decreased their price objective on Copart from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Copart from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, HSBC set a $62.00 target price on shares of Copart and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Copart

In other Copart news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 24,088 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.43, for a total value of $1,118,405.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 31,527 shares in the company, valued at $1,463,798.61. This trade represents a 43.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas N. Tryforos sold 228,840 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.54, for a total value of $10,879,053.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Copart

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP increased its position in Copart by 6.5% during the first quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 2,838 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Copart by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,510 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Copart by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,985 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. raised its stake in Copart by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 4,108 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Finally, FSM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Copart by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,649 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.78% of the company's stock.

Copart Stock Performance

Shares of CPRT stock opened at $44.96 on Wednesday. Copart has a fifty-two week low of $44.23 and a fifty-two week high of $64.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $47.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.10 and a beta of 1.03.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 4th. The business services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. Copart had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 18.17%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.33 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Copart will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Copart

Copart, Inc provides online auctions and vehicle remarketing services. It offers a range of services for processing and selling vehicles over the Internet through its Virtual Bidding Third Generation Internet auction-style sales technology on behalf of vehicle sellers, insurance companies, banks and finance companies, charities, and fleet operators and dealers, as well as individual owners.

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