Palisade Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Palisade Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 189,856 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,352,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Copart in the 2nd quarter worth $1,908,980,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Copart during the 2nd quarter valued at about $488,663,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Copart during the 2nd quarter valued at about $436,413,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Copart during the fourth quarter valued at about $569,569,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Copart in the second quarter worth about $167,000,000. Institutional investors own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Copart

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 27,745 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.49, for a total value of $845,945.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 99,641 shares in the company, valued at $3,038,054.09. This represents a 21.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 9.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CPRT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Copart in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Barclays set a $26.00 target price on Copart and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $45.00 target price on Copart in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Freedom Capital upgraded Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Copart in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.67.

Copart Stock Performance

Shares of CPRT opened at $33.33 on Wednesday. Copart, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.81 and a fifty-two week high of $50.11. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.57. The stock has a market cap of $30.86 billion, a PE ratio of 20.70 and a beta of 1.01.

Copart Profile

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.