Investors Purchase Large Volume of Copart Put Options (NASDAQ:CPRT)

Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 12,791 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 381% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,662 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CPRT. Zacks Research lowered shares of Copart from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Barclays set a $26.00 price target on shares of Copart and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Copart in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $45.00 price target on Copart in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Three research 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.50.

Copart Stock Up 6.7%

Shares of NASDAQ CPRT traded up $1.97 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $31.36. The stock had a trading volume of 8,478,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,119,869. Copart has a 1 year low of $26.81 and a 1 year high of $50.11. The company has a market capitalization of $29.04 billion, a PE ratio of 19.47 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.98.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The business services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. Copart had a net margin of 33.48% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Copart will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Copart

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 27,745 shares of Copart 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 99,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,038,054.09. The trade was 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 the SEC website. Company insiders own 9.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Copart

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CPRT. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Copart during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,908,980,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Copart in the second quarter valued at approximately $488,663,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Copart during the second quarter worth about $436,413,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Copart during the fourth quarter worth about $569,569,000. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Copart by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 27,728,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,085,588,000 after purchasing an additional 5,555,101 shares in the last quarter. 85.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.