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

Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT – Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Equity investors bought 2,944 call options on the company. This is an increase of 32% compared to the average volume of 2,233 call options.

Changes in analyst ratings

Several equity research analysts recently weighed in on CPRT stock. StockNews.com downgraded Copart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Copart from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Copart currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.00.

Check out our latest stock analysis on Copart

Copart is trading 0.9% higher

Copart stock opened at $55.73 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.86 and its two hundred day simple moving average is $50.41. Copart has a 12-month low of $38.53 and a 12-month high of $58.58. The company has a market cap of $53.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.09 and a beta of 1.22.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT – Get Free Report) last reported its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.02). Copart had a return on equity of 21.55% and a net margin of 33.41%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted earnings per share of $0.31. The company’s revenue increased by 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equity analysts predict that Copart will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Buy and sell Insider at Copart

In other news, Chairman A Jayson Adair sold 600,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares sold at an average price of $57.77, for a total value of $34,662,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the Chairman now directly owns 19,687,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,137,374,604.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available on the SEC website. In related news, Chairman A Jayson Adair sold 600,000 shares in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares sold at an average price of $57.77, for a total value of $34,662,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the Chairman now directly owns 19,687,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,137,374,604.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, director Thomas N. Tryforos sold 285,000 shares of Copart stock in a transaction that took place on Wednesday, March 13. The shares sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total value of $15,751,950.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 35,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,450. The explanation of this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 985,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,519,950. 10.23% of the shares are currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional investors weigh in on Copart

Hedge funds have recently increased or decreased their stakes in the stock. Rathbones Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Copart by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 7,821 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $383,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Copart shares by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,133 shares of the business services provider worth $1,232,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in Copart stock by 79.6% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 528 shares of the business services provider worth $31,000, after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in Copart shares by 1.5% in the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 16,791 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $952,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Copart by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,933 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. 85.78% of the shares are held by institutional investors.

About Copart

(Get a free report)

Copart, Inc provides online auction 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 financial companies, charities, and fleet operators and dealers, as well as individual owners.

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