Karooooo Ltd. (NASDAQ:KARO) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest surged 223.2% to 214,139 shares as of September 30, representing 2.7% of Karooooo’s outstanding shares and 2.3 days to cover.
• Karooooo reported quarterly EPS of $0.59, beating estimates by $0.08, on revenue of $96.26 million. Its stock was recently trading at $61.08, within a one-year range of $41.25 to $68.80.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with five Buy ratings and two Holds producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $73.50, despite some recent rating downgrades and insider selling.

Karooooo Ltd. (NASDAQ:KARO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 214,139 shares, a growth of 223.2% from the September 15th total of 66,254 shares. Currently, 2.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 91,708 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Karooooo

In other news, CEO Isaias Calisto sold 6,202 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.50, for a total value of $393,827.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 17,640,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,120,184,450. The trade was a 0.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 277,617 shares of company stock valued at $17,840,247. Insiders own 74.73% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Karooooo

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Karooooo during the 2nd quarter valued at $54,000. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in Karooooo in the 2nd quarter worth $64,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Karooooo in the first quarter valued at about $296,000. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Karooooo by 83.5% in the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 6,961 shares of the company's stock valued at $317,000 after acquiring an additional 3,168 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Karooooo by 9.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,798 shares of the company's stock valued at $438,000 after acquiring an additional 764 shares during the period.

Karooooo Price Performance

Shares of Karooooo stock opened at $61.08 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $63.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.01 and a beta of 0.89. Karooooo has a one year low of $41.25 and a one year high of $68.80.

Karooooo (NASDAQ:KARO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $96.26 million during the quarter. Karooooo had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 17.74%. Analysts forecast that Karooooo will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on KARO. Zacks Research lowered shares of Karooooo from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Karooooo in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Karooooo from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Karooooo from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Freedom Capital lowered shares of Karooooo from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Karooooo has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.50.

Karooooo Company Profile

Karooooo Ltd. is a technology company that provides software-as-a-service solutions for connected vehicles, fleet management, and mobility operations. Through its Cartrack business, the company offers vehicle tracking, fleet monitoring, driver safety tools, asset management, and data analytics designed to help businesses improve productivity, security, and operational efficiency.

Cartrack's platform collects and analyzes telematics data, providing customers with real-time visibility into vehicles and other mobile assets.

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