Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $29.74 and last traded at $29.9540, with a volume of 4751713 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.74.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on CPRT. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $32.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Copart in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Copart from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research upgraded Copart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Robert W. Baird set a $48.00 price target on Copart and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $45.00 price target on Copart in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.50.

Copart Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $27.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.94.

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

Insider Transactions at Copart

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 26,213 shares of Copart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,638,871.76. This trade represents a 24.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 9.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Copart

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CPRT. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Copart by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,555,437 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,470,295,000 after acquiring an additional 492,506 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted 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 valued at $1,085,588,000 after purchasing an additional 5,555,101 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Copart by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,255,161 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $906,836,000 after purchasing an additional 131,703 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted 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 valued at $860,618,000 after purchasing an additional 3,918,610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Copart during the fourth quarter worth $569,569,000. Institutional investors 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.