Copart Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:CPRT)

Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors acquired 2,944 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 32% compared to the average daily volume of 2,233 call options.

Copart Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Copart stock traded up $0.51 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $55.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,553,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,573,211. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.09 and a beta of 1.22. Copart has a 1-year low of $38.53 and a 1-year high of $58.58. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.41.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.02). Copart had a net margin of 33.41% and a return on equity of 21.55%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. Copart’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Copart will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Copart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Copart from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Insider Activity at Copart

In other Copart news, Director Matt Blunt sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.06, for a total value of $5,106,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Matt Blunt sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.06, for a total transaction of $5,106,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman A Jayson Adair sold 600,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.77, for a total value of $34,662,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 19,687,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,137,374,604.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 985,000 shares of company stock valued at $55,519,950 over the last 90 days. 10.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Copart

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Copart by 64.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,441,839 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $70,448,000 after acquiring an additional 563,233 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Copart by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,848,048 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $139,554,000 after buying an additional 44,248 shares during the last quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in shares of Copart by 57.9% during the 4th quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 63,521 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,113,000 after acquiring an additional 23,304 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its stake in shares of Copart by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 1,167,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $57,193,000 after acquiring an additional 262,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Copart by 72.5% during the 3rd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,228 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 2,618 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.78% of the company’s stock.

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.