MBB Public Markets I LLC Purchases New Holdings in Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Key Points

• MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired 5,894 shares of Copart, Inc., valued at approximately $334,000, indicating institutional interest in the company.
• Copart's stock has received varying ratings from analysts, with HSBC Global Res upgrading it to a "strong-buy" while several other firms adjusted their target prices lower.
• CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold over 24,000 shares of Copart at an average price of $46.43, significantly reducing his stake in the company by 43.31%.

MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 5,894 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $334,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Copart during the first quarter valued at $604,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in Copart by 53.3% in the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 854,336 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $48,347,000 after purchasing an additional 297,210 shares during the last quarter. 111 Capital bought a new stake in Copart in the fourth quarter valued at about $967,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in Copart by 16.5% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 4,142 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.78% of the company's stock.

Copart Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:CPRT traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $48.40. 3,944,793 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,601,746. The company has a market cap of $46.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.25 and a beta of 1.03. Copart, Inc. has a one year low of $45.05 and a one year high of $64.38. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $47.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.50.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Copart had a return on equity of 18.17% and a net margin of 33.41%.Copart's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.33 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Copart from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Copart from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Stephens dropped their price objective on Copart from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 5th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Copart from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, HSBC set a $62.00 price objective on Copart and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $54.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 24,088 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.43, for a total transaction of $1,118,405.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 31,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.68% 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.