Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Copart an average rating of Hold from eight brokerages (2 sell, 3 hold, 1 buy, 2 strong buy) with an average 1-year price target of $44.40, and several firms recently cut targets (e.g., Barclays $32, JPMorgan $34) while Robert W. Baird kept a $48 target.
• Copart's latest quarter missed estimates—EPS $0.36 vs. $0.39 expected and revenue $1.12B vs. $1.15B expected—with revenue down 3.6% year-over-year and the stock trading near its one-year low; market cap is about $31.6B and P/E ~20.5.
• CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 25,137 shares (about $1.01M) in January, reducing his ownership by roughly 30.99%; insiders own 9.60% of the stock while institutional investors hold about 85.78%.

Shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Hold" from the eight brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $44.40.

CPRT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $32.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Copart in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Zacks Research lowered Copart from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. CJS Securities upgraded Copart to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird set a $48.00 target price on Copart and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Copart from $45.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Copart news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 25,137 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 55,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,248,314.90. This trade represents a 30.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 9.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CPRT. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Copart in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Copart during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Copart during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Copart by 125.2% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 653 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in shares of Copart by 54.0% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 730 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. 85.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Copart Stock Performance

NASDAQ CPRT opened at $32.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.53 and a beta of 1.09. Copart has a one year low of $32.20 and a one year high of $63.85. The company's 50 day moving average price is $37.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.61.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The business services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.03). Copart had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 33.76%.The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.40 EPS. Copart's revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Copart 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.

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