485,012 Shares in Copart, Inc. $CPRT Purchased by Calamos Advisors LLC

Calamos Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 485,012 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $13,231,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Copart in the second quarter valued at $1,908,980,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Copart in the 2nd quarter valued at $488,663,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Copart in the 2nd quarter valued at $436,413,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Copart by 28.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,706,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $322,256,000 after acquiring an additional 2,165,708 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Copart by 97.9% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,059,273 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $255,381,000 after acquiring an additional 4,482,226 shares in the last quarter. 85.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Copart Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ CPRT opened at $31.95 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $29.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.01. Copart, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.72 and a 12-month high of $42.05. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.22.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 10th. The business services provider reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Copart, Inc. will post 1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Copart news, Director Diane Morefield sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.66, for a total value of $553,200.00. Following the sale, the director owned 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,383,000. This trade represents a 28.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 9.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CPRT shares. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Copart in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Barrington Research raised Copart from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $40.00 price target on shares of Copart in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Freedom Broker reduced their price target 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Copart from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Copart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.90.

About Copart

Copart, Inc operates an online vehicle auction and remarketing business. Its platform connects sellers with buyers of used and damaged vehicles, including cars, trucks, motorcycles and other equipment.

The company serves insurance companies, vehicle dealers, rental and fleet operators, financial institutions and other businesses, as well as individual buyers. Its services include online auctions, vehicle storage, title processing and support with vehicle transportation.

Founded in 1982 by Willis Johnson, Copart has expanded from its origins in the United States to serve customers in multiple countries, including markets in North America, Europe and the Middle East.