Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,730,000 shares, a decrease of 7.1% from the December 15th total of 11,550,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,140,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Copart Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CPRT traded up $0.50 on Friday, hitting $56.90. 3,335,342 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,104,842. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.07 and a beta of 1.33. Copart has a 1-year low of $47.51 and a 1-year high of $64.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $59.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.71.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The business services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37. Copart had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 31.92%. The company had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.34 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Copart will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman A Jayson Adair sold 251,423 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.79, for a total transaction of $16,038,273.17. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 14,436,557 shares in the company, valued at $920,907,971.03. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Diane M. Morefield sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.01, for a total transaction of $1,740,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,160,200. This represents a 60.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 650,213 shares of company stock worth $39,199,813. 9.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Copart

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CPRT. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Copart by 48.8% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in Copart by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 397,623 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $22,820,000 after buying an additional 24,191 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Copart by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 104,015 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,969,000 after buying an additional 17,561 shares in the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its stake in shares of Copart by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 26,074 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,496,000 after acquiring an additional 5,006 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its stake in Copart by 156.3% in the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 52,538 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,015,000 after purchasing an additional 32,038 shares during the last quarter. 85.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Copart from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th.

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.