Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $54.57 and traded as high as $58.01. Copart shares last traded at $56.32, with a volume of 5,589,617 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CPRT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Copart from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Copart from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th.

Copart Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $54.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.08 and a beta of 1.31. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $58.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.58.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The business services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. Copart had a net margin of 31.92% and a return on equity of 18.96%. Copart's quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.34 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Copart, Inc. will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Copart news, Director Thomas N. Tryforos sold 83,310 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.86, for a total value of $5,153,556.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $485,601. This trade represents a 91.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman A Jayson Adair sold 251,423 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.79, for a total transaction of $16,038,273.17. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 14,436,557 shares in the company, valued at $920,907,971.03. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 364,733 shares of company stock valued at $22,932,130 in the last ninety days. 9.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Copart

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Copart by 31.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 16,754 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $962,000 after acquiring an additional 4,014 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Copart by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 27,631 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,447,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in Copart in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,206,000. American Trust bought a new stake in Copart during the 3rd quarter valued at $598,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Copart by 335.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,705,354 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $149,471,000 after buying an additional 2,084,626 shares during the last quarter. 85.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Copart Company Profile

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.