Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) CEO Sells 26,213 Shares

Key Points

• Copart CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 26,213 shares on April 15 at an average price of $33.18 for ~$869,747, reducing his direct holding by 24.79% to 79,532 shares, as disclosed in an SEC filing.
• The company missed quarterly estimates (EPS $0.36 vs. $0.39 expected; revenue $1.12B vs. $1.15B expected) with revenue down 3.6% year‑over‑year, while the stock trades around $33.45 (market cap ~$32.2B) and carries an average analyst price target of $44.40 with a consensus "Hold."
• Institutional ownership is high (85.78%), with major investors like Vanguard, Principal, State Street and Capital World Investors holding and in some cases increasing large stakes.

Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 26,213 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.18, for a total value of $869,747.34. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 79,532 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,638,871.76. The trade was a 24.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Copart Stock Performance

Shares of CPRT stock traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $33.45. 17,862,944 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,222,479. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $35.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.91 and a beta of 1.14. Copart, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.20 and a 12-month high of $63.85.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.15 billion. Copart had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 33.76%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Copart

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Copart by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,990,652 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,901,310,000 after acquiring an additional 2,581,784 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,236,101 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Copart by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,555,437 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,470,295,000 after acquiring an additional 492,506 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Copart by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 27,728,398 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,085,588,000 after acquiring an additional 5,555,101 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Copart by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,255,161 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $906,836,000 after acquiring an additional 131,703 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.78% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CPRT shares. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $32.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Copart in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Copart in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Zacks Research lowered Copart from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Copart from $45.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $48.00 price target on Copart and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $44.40.

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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