Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) Short Interest Update

Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,460,000 shares, a decrease of 5.2% from the October 15th total of 8,920,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,750,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Copart Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CPRT opened at $50.22 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.22 billion, a PE ratio of 39.23 and a beta of 1.19. Copart has a 1 year low of $29.61 and a 1 year high of $51.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $45.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.39.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 16th. The business services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. Copart had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 22.46%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $987.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Copart will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Copart from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Copart from $39.50 to $41.00 in a research note on Monday, September 18th. Argus started coverage on shares of Copart in a report on Friday, September 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $53.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Copart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Copart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.40.

Insider Activity

In other Copart news, Director Matt Blunt sold 49,435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.11, for a total transaction of $2,131,142.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Copart news, Director Stephen Fisher sold 160,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.69, for a total transaction of $7,310,400.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Matt Blunt sold 49,435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.11, for a total transaction of $2,131,142.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 10.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Copart

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Copart by 945.2% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 85,828 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,821,000 after buying an additional 77,616 shares during the period. abrdn plc lifted its stake in shares of Copart by 4.1% in the first quarter. abrdn plc now owns 163,477 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,295,000 after buying an additional 6,424 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Copart by 4.1% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 7,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $562,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Copart in the first quarter valued at about $235,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Copart by 742.9% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 118,906 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,943,000 after buying an additional 104,800 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Copart

Copart, Inc provides online auctions and vehicle remarketing services. It offers a range of services for processing and selling vehicles over the Internet through its Virtual Bidding Third Generation Internet auction-style sales technology on behalf of vehicle sellers, insurance companies, banks and finance companies, charities, and fleet operators and dealers, as well as individual owners.