Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) Short Interest Up 55.8% in March

Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,180,000 shares, a growth of 55.8% from the February 29th total of 8,460,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,640,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Copart Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of CPRT stock traded up $0.68 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $57.92. 5,084,249 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,535,906. Copart has a 12-month low of $36.63 and a 12-month high of $58.15. The company's 50-day moving average price is $52.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.67 and a beta of 1.22.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.02). Copart had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 21.55%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. Copart's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Copart will post 1.42 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Copart news, Director Thomas N. Tryforos sold 285,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total value of $15,751,950.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,450. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Thomas N. Tryforos sold 285,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total transaction of $15,751,950.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,450. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Matt Blunt sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.06, for a total transaction of $5,106,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 705,000 shares of company stock valued at $35,910,750 over the last three months. Insiders own 10.23% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Veritable L.P. increased its stake in Copart by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Veritable L.P. now owns 15,198 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,143,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in Copart by 0.3% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 71,048 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $7,560,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its holdings in Copart by 92.1% during the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 438 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in Copart by 3.9% during the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 5,640 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $600,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC raised its position in Copart by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 7,821 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $383,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.78% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CPRT has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Copart in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Copart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Copart in a report on Monday, December 4th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $51.00 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Copart has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.00.

About Copart

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.