What Happened?
Shares of online vehicle auction company Copart (NASDAQ: CPRT) fell 3.9% in the afternoon session after the release of a surprisingly weak August jobs report, which showed a significant slowdown in hiring. The U.S. economy added only 22,000 jobs, falling far short of the 75,000 economists had forecasted, while the unemployment rate rose to a 46-month high of 4.3%. The Bureau of Labor Statistics report also contained downward revisions for previous months, intensifying concerns that the labor market's health is deteriorating. Several sectors, including manufacturing, financial activities, and information, reported job losses for the month. While the disappointing data initially fueled investor hopes for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut, major indices like the Dow Jones and S&P 500 later fell as concerns about a potential economic downturn took hold.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Is now the time to buy Copart? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
What Is The Market Telling Us
Copart’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 3 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 1 day ago when the stock gained 3% on the news that HSBC upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold, lifting its price target to $62.00 from $56.00.
The upgrade comes after the stock fell approximately 20% since its third-quarter fiscal 2025 results were released in late May. HSBC analysts noted that while there are market concerns about stalling growth and rising competition, they believe the slower volume growth is likely temporary. The bank highlighted Copart's impressive historical growth and stated that the recent share price decline provides an attractive entry point for a high-quality company with long-term potential. HSBC also pointed to other levers, such as margins and share buybacks, that could drive continued earnings expansion for the online vehicle auction company.
Copart is down 14.6% since the beginning of the year, and at $48.10 per share, it is trading 24.7% below its 52-week high of $63.84 from May 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Copart’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,894.
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