Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Grows Stock Holdings in Copart, Inc. $CPRT

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lifted its position in shares of Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 341,539 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,188 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Copart were worth $13,371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Copart by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 371,603 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,711,000 after purchasing an additional 45,346 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Copart by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 40,175,058 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,806,674,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236,101 shares during the period. Yacktman Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Copart in the 3rd quarter worth $3,382,000. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. boosted its stake in Copart by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 3,181,919 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $143,091,000 after purchasing an additional 212,520 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Copart by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 798,087 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,353,000 after purchasing an additional 31,658 shares during the period. 85.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Copart Stock Performance

Shares of CPRT stock opened at $33.26 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $34.31 and its 200-day moving average is $38.31. The stock has a market cap of $32.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.78 and a beta of 1.02. Copart, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.20 and a 52-week high of $63.85.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The business services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. Copart had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Copart, Inc. will post 1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on CPRT. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $32.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Copart in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Copart from $45.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Copart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Copart in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $48.00 price target on shares of Copart and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Copart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.40.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Liaw sold 26,213 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.18, for a total value of $869,747.34. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 79,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,638,871.76. This represents a 24.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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.