Copart, Inc. $CPRT Position Trimmed by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its stake in Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 62.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,486,019 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,431,075 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.15% of Copart worth $49,336,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CPRT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Copart in the fourth quarter worth $569,569,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Copart by 25.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 27,728,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,085,588,000 after purchasing an additional 5,555,101 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors acquired a new position in Copart in the 4th quarter worth about $195,637,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Copart by 94.0% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 9,955,661 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $389,764,000 after purchasing an additional 4,823,111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Copart by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 21,982,589 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $860,618,000 after purchasing an additional 3,918,610 shares in the last quarter. 85.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on CPRT. Jefferies Financial Group set a $45.00 price target on Copart in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Copart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Copart from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Copart currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.50.

Copart Trading Down 1.2%

CPRT opened at $30.05 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $32.30 and a 200-day moving average of $35.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66 and a beta of 1.00. Copart, Inc. has a 1-year low of $29.41 and a 1-year high of $50.11.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The business services provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. Copart had a net margin of 33.48% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Copart, Inc. will post 1.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 26,213 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.18, for a total value of $869,747.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 79,532 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,638,871.76. This represents a 24.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 9.60% of the company’s stock.

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.