William Blair Investment Management LLC Invests $89.08 Million in Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management initiated a Copart position worth approximately $89.08 million, purchasing 3.16 million shares and acquiring a 0.34% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 85.78% of Copart.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with ratings ranging from Strong Buy to Sell. MarketBeat reports a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $41.67.
• Copart’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings of $0.43 per share versus the $0.41 estimate and revenue of $1.24 billion. Revenue increased 2.1% year over year, while CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 27,745 shares for about $846,000.

William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 3,159,978 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $89,080,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 0.34% of Copart as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CPRT. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Copart in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,908,980,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Copart by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,555,437 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,470,295,000 after purchasing an additional 492,506 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Copart by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 27,728,398 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,085,588,000 after purchasing an additional 5,555,101 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Copart by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,255,161 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $906,836,000 after buying an additional 131,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Copart by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 21,982,589 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $860,618,000 after buying an additional 3,918,610 shares during the period. 85.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on CPRT shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $45.00 price objective on Copart in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays set a $26.00 target price on Copart and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Zacks Research cut Copart from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Copart in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Copart in a research report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $41.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Copart news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 27,745 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.49, for a total transaction of $845,945.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 99,641 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,038,054.09. The trade was a 21.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.60% of the company's stock.

Copart Stock Performance

Shares of CPRT opened at $33.80 on Friday. Copart, Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.81 and a 52-week high of $50.11. The firm has a market cap of $31.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.99 and a beta of 1.01. The business's fifty day moving average is $29.49 and its 200-day moving average is $32.71.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The business services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. Copart had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 33.48%.Copart's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Copart, Inc. will post 1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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