Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) Reaches New 12-Month Low - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Copart's stock (NASDAQ: CPRT) reached a new 52-week low at $43.46 on Thursday, closing slightly higher at $43.55 with a trading volume of over 1 million shares.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Copart, with HSBC setting a price target of $62.00 and Robert W. Baird lowering theirs to $55.00, indicating a generally positive outlook despite recent performance.
• The company reported $1.13 billion in revenue for the most recent quarter, slightly under the consensus estimate, but improved its earnings per share to $0.41, outperforming expectations.

Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $43.46 and last traded at $43.55, with a volume of 1028555 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.56.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CPRT has been the subject of a number of research reports. HSBC set a $62.00 price target on shares of Copart and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report 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. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective 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. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of Copart from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Copart in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Copart currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.50.

Copart Price Performance

The business's 50 day moving average price is $46.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.25 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas N. Tryforos sold 228,840 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.54, for a total transaction of $10,879,053.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 9.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Copart

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Copart in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Atticus Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Copart in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Copart in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Copart by 1,063.0% in the second quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 628 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Copart in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 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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