Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) Rating Lowered to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $32.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Copart in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird set a $48.00 price target on Copart and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. CJS Securities raised Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Copart from $45.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.40.

Copart Stock Performance

CPRT opened at $35.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $34.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.43 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $39.24 and a 200 day moving average of $42.33. Copart has a fifty-two week low of $33.81 and a fifty-two week high of $63.85.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The business services provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.03). Copart had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 33.76%.The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Copart will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Copart

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 25,137 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.17, for a total value of $1,009,753.29. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,248,314.90. This represents a 30.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 9.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Copart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CPRT. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Copart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Copart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Copart in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. LRI Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Copart by 125.2% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 653 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the period. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Copart by 1,063.0% during the 2nd quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 628 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

Copart Company 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.