Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $37.2222.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Copart from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 11th. Freedom Broker reduced their price target on shares of Copart from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 14th. HSBC cut shares of Copart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $36.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Copart in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Copart in a research report on Thursday, August 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Copart

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 27,745 shares of the firm’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 $3,038,054.09. This trade represents a 21.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 9.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Copart

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Silicon Valley Capital Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Copart in the second quarter worth about $246,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Copart by 58.6% in the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 27,943 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $788,000 after acquiring an additional 10,330 shares during the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,125 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Copart by 1.3% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 28,547 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $805,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Copart by 5.0% in the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,508,427 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,523,000 after buying an additional 71,785 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

Copart Trading Down 0.4%

CPRT opened at $28.80 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $30.60 and its 200-day moving average is $31.69. The stock has a market cap of $26.66 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.03. Copart has a twelve month low of $26.81 and a twelve month high of $45.89.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 10th. The business services provider reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). Copart had a net margin of 31.81% and a return on equity of 15.93%. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Copart will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

About Copart

Copart, Inc (NASDAQ: CPRT) provides online vehicle auction and remarketing services. The company operates a global marketplace where damaged, recovered, used and other vehicles are sold primarily through online auctions. Its offerings include salvage and clean-title vehicles, with inventory sourced from insurance companies, banks, dealerships, fleet operators, rental companies, government agencies and other organizations.

Copart supports the vehicle remarketing process through inspection, storage, transportation, title processing and auction services.