Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) Hits New 1-Year Low - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Copart shares hit a new 52-week low of $26.74 and were recently trading near $26.87, below both their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Despite the decline, analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $37.80, including recent upgrades from JPMorgan to “overweight” and Zacks Research to “hold.”
• Copart’s latest quarterly revenue rose 2.4% year over year to $1.15 billion, beating estimates, but earnings per share of $0.35 missed expectations of $0.38; CEO Jeffrey Liaw also sold 27,745 shares.

Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $26.74 and last traded at $26.8740, with a volume of 3115517 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $27.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CPRT shares. Zacks Research raised Copart from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $40.00 target price on Copart in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Copart from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $32.00 to $40.00 in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Freedom Capital upgraded Copart to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Copart in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Copart currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.80.

Copart Trading Down 0.5%

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.42. The stock has a market cap of $25.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.34, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) last announced 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). Copart had a return on equity of 15.93% and a net margin of 31.81%.The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. Copart's revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Copart, Inc. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Copart

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 27,745 shares of Copart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were 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 directly owned 99,641 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,038,054.09. This trade represents a 21.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 9.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Copart

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CPRT. Reflection Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Copart in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Copart during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cache Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Copart in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Copart by 110.9% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 947 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Copart by 14,062.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,133 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.78% of the company's stock.

Copart Company Profile

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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