Zacks Research Upgrades Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) to Hold

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Copart from a "strong sell" to a "hold," while analysts' consensus remains a Moderate Buy with a $44.40 consensus target price.
• Copart's latest quarter missed estimates (EPS $0.36 vs. $0.39; revenue $1.12B, down 3.6% YoY), and the stock trades near its 52-week low around $33 versus a high of $63.85.
• CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 26,213 shares at about $33.18, even as institutional investors increased positions—institutions now own roughly 85.8% of the company following large inflows from firms like Norges Bank and Capital World.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on CPRT. Robert W. Baird set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Copart and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Copart from $45.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Copart in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $32.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Copart in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Copart presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.40.

Copart Stock Performance

Shares of CPRT stock opened at $33.34 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.84 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $34.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.38. Copart has a fifty-two week low of $32.20 and a fifty-two week high of $63.85.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The business services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. Copart had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Copart will post 1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Copart news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 26,213 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.18, for a total transaction of $869,747.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 79,532 shares in the company, valued at $2,638,871.76. The trade was a 24.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 9.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CPRT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Copart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $569,569,000. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Copart by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 27,728,398 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,085,588,000 after acquiring an additional 5,555,101 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors acquired a new position in Copart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $195,637,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Copart by 94.0% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 9,955,661 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $389,764,000 after acquiring an additional 4,823,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Copart by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 21,982,589 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $860,618,000 after acquiring an additional 3,918,610 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.78% 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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