Copart Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:CPRT)

Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders bought 6,913 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 110% compared to the average daily volume of 3,294 call options.

Insider Activity at Copart

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 27,745 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 99,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,038,054.09. This trade represents a 21.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 9.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Copart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CPRT. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in Copart during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new position in Copart in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Cache Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Copart during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Copart by 110.9% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 947 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the period. Finally, Triumph Capital Management raised its position in Copart by 424.2% during the fourth quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 1,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the period. 85.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CPRT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Freedom Capital upgraded Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Barclays set a $26.00 price objective on Copart and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Copart in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Copart in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Copart from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.67.

Copart Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CPRT traded up $0.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $34.35. 2,037,556 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,259,057. Copart has a 52-week low of $26.81 and a 52-week high of $50.11. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.70. The company has a market cap of $31.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34 and a beta of 1.01.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The business services provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.02. Copart had a net margin of 33.48% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Copart will post 1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.