Tsai Capital Corp Buys 54,103 Shares of Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Key Points

• Tsai Capital Corp boosted its Copart stake by 62.4%, buying 54,103 shares to hold 140,738 shares worth about $6.33 million, while other institutions like VanEck and Vanguard also added large positions and institutional ownership sits at roughly 85.8%.
• CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 25,137 shares on Jan. 15 at $40.17, cutting his ownership by about 31% to 55,970 shares, with insiders now holding 9.6% of the stock.
• Copart missed quarterly estimates (EPS $0.36 vs. $0.39; revenue $1.12B vs. $1.15B), and analyst sentiment is mixed — consensus rating is "Hold" with an average price target of $44.40 amid several downgrades and target cuts.

Tsai Capital Corp boosted its stake in Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report) by 62.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 140,738 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 54,103 shares during the quarter. Copart makes up about 4.4% of Tsai Capital Corp's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Tsai Capital Corp's holdings in Copart were worth $6,329,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Copart during the second quarter worth $549,448,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Copart by 2,266.7% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,689,003 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $165,895,000 after purchasing an additional 3,533,133 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp raised its stake in shares of Copart by 75.3% during the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 7,000,430 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $343,511,000 after purchasing an additional 3,007,820 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Copart by 75.2% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,579,404 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $322,851,000 after acquiring an additional 2,824,991 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Copart by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,990,652 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,901,310,000 after purchasing an additional 2,581,784 shares during the last quarter. 85.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 25,137 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 55,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,248,314.90. This represents a 30.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 9.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on CPRT. Zacks Research lowered shares of Copart from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $48.00 target price on Copart and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. CJS Securities upgraded Copart to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $32.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Copart in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Copart from $45.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $44.40.

Copart Trading Down 0.5%

CPRT opened at $37.57 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $36.19 billion, a PE ratio of 23.48 and a beta of 1.09. Copart, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.81 and a 1 year high of $63.85. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $39.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.76.

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

Copart Profile

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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