Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC Lowers Position in Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Key Points

• Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC trimmed its stake in Copart by 93.8% in Q4, selling 215,711 shares and leaving 14,350 shares worth $562,000.
• Several large institutions (AQR, VanEck, Akre, Vanguard and Marshall Wace) markedly increased their Copart positions in Q3, leaving hedge funds and other institutional investors with about 85.78% ownership of the stock.
• Analyst views are mixed — the consensus rating is "Hold" with an average price target of $44.40 after recent downgrades and price cuts — and Copart recently missed Q4 EPS expectations while revenue fell 3.6% year‑over‑year.

Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC trimmed its stake in Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report) by 93.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 14,350 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 215,711 shares during the quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC's holdings in Copart were worth $562,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CPRT. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Copart by 298.2% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,887,359 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $217,243,000 after purchasing an additional 3,660,031 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Copart by 2,266.7% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,689,003 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $165,895,000 after purchasing an additional 3,533,133 shares during the period. Akre Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Copart by 253.1% in the third quarter. Akre Capital Management LLC now owns 4,236,760 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $190,527,000 after purchasing an additional 3,036,760 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Copart by 2.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,990,652 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,901,310,000 after purchasing an additional 2,581,784 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Copart by 395.6% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,499,370 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $112,397,000 after purchasing an additional 1,995,074 shares during the period. 85.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CPRT shares. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $32.00 target price (down from $33.00) on shares of Copart in a report on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Copart from $45.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Robert W. Baird set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Copart and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Copart from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Copart in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $44.40.

Copart Stock Up 0.1%

CPRT opened at $33.29 on Wednesday. Copart, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.20 and a 52-week high of $63.85. The company has a 50 day moving average of $35.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.17. The company has a market cap of $32.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.81 and a beta of 1.14.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The business services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.15 billion. Copart had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 33.76%.Copart's quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Copart

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 25,137 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.17, for a total value of $1,009,753.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,248,314.90. This represents a 30.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 9.60% of the company's stock.

About Copart

Copart NASDAQ: CPRT is a global provider of online vehicle auction and remarketing services, focused primarily on the sale of salvage and clean-title vehicles. The company operates a technology-driven auction platform that connects sellers — including insurance companies, vehicle finance firms, rental car companies, dealerships and fleet owners — with a broad buyer base consisting of vehicle dismantlers, recyclers, rebuilders and retail buyers. Copart's business model centers on efficient vehicle disposition using digital bidding and logistics services to maximize recovery value for its clients.

Core services include hosting live and timed online auctions, vehicle listing and inspection support, title processing, and transportation and storage solutions.

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