Is There Now An Opportunity In Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT)?

Today we're going to take a look at the well-established Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT). The company's stock saw significant share price movement during recent months on the NASDAQGS, rising to highs of US$132 and falling to the lows of US$107. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether Copart's current trading price of US$107 reflective of the actual value of the large-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at Copart’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change.

Check out our latest analysis for Copart

What is Copart worth?

According to my price multiple model, which makes a comparison between the company's price-to-earnings ratio and the industry average, the stock price seems to be justfied. I’ve used the price-to-earnings ratio in this instance because there’s not enough visibility to forecast its cash flows. The stock’s ratio of 23.3x is currently trading slightly above its industry peers’ ratio of 22.5x, which means if you buy Copart today, you’d be paying a relatively reasonable price for it. And if you believe that Copart should be trading at this level in the long run, then there should only be a fairly immaterial downside vs other industry peers. Is there another opportunity to buy low in the future? Since Copart’s share price is quite volatile, we could potentially see it sink lower (or rise higher) in the future, giving us another chance to buy. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for how much the stock moves relative to the rest of the market.

Can we expect growth from Copart?

Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Although value investors would argue that it’s the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. With profit expected to grow by a double-digit 12% over the next couple of years, the outlook is positive for Copart. It looks like higher cash flow is on the cards for the stock, which should feed into a higher share valuation.

What this means for you:

Are you a shareholder? CPRT’s optimistic future growth appears to have been factored into the current share price, with shares trading around industry price multiples. However, there are also other important factors which we haven’t considered today, such as the financial strength of the company. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at CPRT? Will you have enough conviction to buy should the price fluctuate below the industry PE ratio?

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping an eye on CPRT, now may not be the most advantageous time to buy, given it is trading around industry price multiples. However, the positive outlook is encouraging for CPRT, which means it’s worth further examining other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

Since timing is quite important when it comes to individual stock picking, it's worth taking a look at what those latest analysts forecasts are. Luckily, you can check out what analysts are forecasting by clicking here.

If you are no longer interested in Copart, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.