Copart Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:CPRT)

Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders acquired 6,913 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 110% compared to the typical volume of 3,294 call options.

Copart Price Performance

Copart stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $34.35. 2,037,556 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,259,057. Copart has a 12 month low of $26.81 and a 12 month high of $50.11. The business has a 50 day moving average of $29.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CPRT. Freedom Capital raised shares of Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $45.00 price objective on Copart in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded Copart from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Copart in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays set a $26.00 price target on Copart and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Copart currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Copart news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 27,745 shares of Copart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were 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 directly owned 99,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,038,054.09. The trade was a 21.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 9.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Copart

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Copart in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,908,980,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Copart during the second quarter valued at approximately $488,663,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Copart during the second quarter valued at approximately $436,413,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Copart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $569,569,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Copart during the second quarter valued at approximately $191,347,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

Copart Company Profile

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.