Copart, Inc. $CPRT Shares Sold by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. sold 418,900 shares of Copart, Inc., reducing its holdings by 71.7% in the first quarter, leaving it with 165,200 shares valued at approximately $9.35 million.
• CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 24,088 shares at around $46.43 each, reducing his ownership by 43.31% and retaining 31,527 shares worth about $1.46 million.
• Copart reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.41, exceeding the consensus estimate by $0.04, while its revenue reached $1.13 billion, a 2.9% increase from the prior year.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. trimmed its holdings in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report) by 71.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 165,200 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 418,900 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.'s holdings in Copart were worth $9,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of CPRT. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Copart by 92.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,215 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $816,000 after buying an additional 6,817 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Copart by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,724 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $558,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its holdings in Copart by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 75,899 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,356,000 after purchasing an additional 2,515 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Copart by 604.9% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 446,534 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,627,000 after purchasing an additional 383,186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Trust Co acquired a new position in Copart during the fourth quarter worth $211,000. 85.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Copart

In other Copart news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 24,088 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 31,527 shares in the company, valued at $1,463,798.61. This represents a 43.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 9.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CPRT has been the subject of several research reports. HSBC set a $62.00 price objective on Copart and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. Stephens reduced 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. Hsbc Global Res raised Copart from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Copart from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $54.50.

Copart Price Performance

CPRT stock traded down $0.50 during trading on Friday, reaching $48.40. 3,944,793 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,601,746. The business's 50 day moving average price is $47.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.50. Copart, Inc. has a 52-week low of $45.05 and a 52-week high of $64.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.80 billion, a PE ratio of 30.25 and a beta of 1.03.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Copart had a return on equity of 18.17% and a net margin of 33.41%.The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.33 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Copart 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.