Copart, Inc. $CPRT Stock: Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Boosts Position

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management more than doubled its Copart stake in the third quarter, adding 3.47 million shares to hold 6.78 million shares worth approximately $185.1 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 85.78% of Copart.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive, with Copart receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $37.80, compared with a recent share price of $27.75.
• Copart’s latest quarterly revenue rose 2.4% year over year to $1.15 billion but earnings of $0.35 per share missed estimates by $0.03. CEO Jeffrey Liaw also sold 27,745 shares, while insiders retain a 9.60% ownership stake.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report) by 104.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,784,829 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,471,607 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.73% of Copart worth $185,090,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CPRT. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Copart in the second quarter valued at $1,908,980,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Copart during the 2nd quarter worth $488,663,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Copart during the 2nd quarter worth $436,413,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Copart by 28.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,706,517 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $322,256,000 after purchasing an additional 2,165,708 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Copart by 97.9% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,059,273 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $255,381,000 after purchasing an additional 4,482,226 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CPRT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays set a $25.00 price target on shares of Copart and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Copart from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 7th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Copart to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Copart in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane restated an "outperform" rating and set a $43.00 target price (up from $40.00) on shares of Copart in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Copart currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $37.80.

Copart Price Performance

CPRT opened at $27.75 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $25.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.06. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $30.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.84. Copart, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.72 and a 1-year high of $45.89.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 10th. The business services provider reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.14 billion. Copart had a net margin of 31.81% and a return on equity of 15.93%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Copart, Inc. will post 1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Copart news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 27,745 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.49, for a total value of $845,945.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 99,641 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,038,054.09. This represents a 21.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 9.60% of the company's stock.

About Copart

Copart, Inc is a global provider of online vehicle auction and remarketing services. The company primarily sells vehicles that have been damaged, totaled, recovered from theft, or otherwise deemed uneconomical to repair. Its customers include insurance companies, automobile dealers, dismantlers, rebuilders, exporters, rental and finance companies, and members of the general public.

Copart conducts auctions through its online VB3 platform, which connects buyers with vehicles listed at the company's facilities.

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