Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) Hits New 12-Month Low - Here's Why

Key Points

• Copart's stock has reached a new 12-month low, trading at $41.83, with analysts lowering their price targets from $50 to $46 and from $64 to $55.
• The company reported earnings of $0.41 per share, beating analyst estimates, but its revenue of $1.13 billion slightly missed expectations, reflecting a 2.9% year-over-year increase.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and institutions controlling approximately 85.78% of Copart's shares, while some insiders have sold significant amounts of stock recently.

Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $41.83 and last traded at $42.0140, with a volume of 4512563 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.85.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on CPRT shares. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Copart from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 5th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Copart from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. HSBC set a $62.00 target price on shares of Copart and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Copart from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Copart in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Copart presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $54.50.

Copart Trading Down 2.3%

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $45.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.57. The stock has a market cap of $40.53 billion, a PE ratio of 26.18 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Thomas N. Tryforos sold 228,840 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.54, for a total transaction of $10,879,053.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 24,283 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.79, for a total transaction of $1,087,635.57. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 31,332 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,403,360.28. This trade represents a 43.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 9.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC purchased a new position in shares of Copart in the second quarter worth about $219,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Copart by 52.2% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 23,862 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,350,000 after purchasing an additional 8,181 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Copart by 3.5% in the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 753,973 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $36,153,000 after purchasing an additional 25,564 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Copart by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 4,142 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Copart by 15.9% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 15,345,768 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $868,417,000 after acquiring an additional 2,106,656 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.78% of the company's stock.

Copart Company Profile

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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