Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT)

Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 9,756 call options on the company. This is an increase of 132% compared to the average daily volume of 4,201 call options.

Copart Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CPRT opened at $39.11 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.85 and a beta of 1.12. Copart has a one year low of $38.18 and a one year high of $63.85. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.35.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The business services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.02. Copart had a net margin of 34.24% and a return on equity of 17.78%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Copart will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (up from $32.00) on shares of Copart in a report on Friday, November 21st. HSBC set a $62.00 target price on Copart and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Stephens decreased their price objective on Copart from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Copart from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Copart from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Copart

In other Copart news, Director Thomas N. Tryforos sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.07, for a total transaction of $3,907,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 24,283 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.79, for a total value of $1,087,635.57. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 31,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,403,360.28. The trade was a 43.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 9.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Copart

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Copart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Copart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Atticus Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Copart in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Copart by 1,063.0% in the 2nd quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 628 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Copart in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 85.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Copart

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