Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) Stock Price Crosses Above 50-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) shares passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $29.57 and traded as high as $30.38. Copart shares last traded at $30.13, with a volume of 13,446,355 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on CPRT. Barrington Research upgraded Copart from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, September 11th. Freedom Broker cut their target price on shares of Copart from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 14th. BNP Paribas Exane reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 target price (up from $40.00) on shares of Copart in a report on Monday, September 28th. Zacks Research raised shares of Copart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 7th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Copart in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.80.

Copart Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.44. The company has a market cap of $27.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.06.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 10th. The business services provider reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.03). Copart had a net margin of 31.81% and a return on equity of 15.93%. The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. Copart’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Copart, Inc. will post 1.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Copart

In other news, Director Diane Morefield sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.66, for a total transaction of $553,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,383,000. This represents a 28.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 9.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Copart

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. bought a new position in Copart in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Copart in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Copart by 110.9% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 947 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Copart by 3,550.0% during the third quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,022 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 994 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in Copart by 62.5% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

About Copart

Copart, Inc is a provider of online vehicle auction and remarketing services. The company operates a digital marketplace that connects vehicle sellers with a broad network of buyers, including licensed dismantlers, rebuilders, used-car dealers, exporters and individual consumers.

Copart primarily sells vehicles that have been damaged, declared total losses by insurers, repossessed, donated or otherwise designated for resale. Its services also include vehicle storage, transportation, towing coordination, title processing, inspection and auction support.