Karooooo Ltd. (NASDAQ:KARO) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Karooooo Ltd. (NASDAQ:KARO) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 214,139 shares, an increase of 223.2% from the September 15th total of 66,254 shares. Approximately 2.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 91,708 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Karooooo Price Performance

NASDAQ:KARO traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $61.57. 43,303 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 79,649. Karooooo has a one year low of $41.25 and a one year high of $68.80. The company has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.25 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $63.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Karooooo (NASDAQ:KARO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $96.26 million during the quarter. Karooooo had a net margin of 17.74% and a return on equity of 32.03%. Sell-side analysts predict that Karooooo will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KARO. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on Karooooo from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research lowered Karooooo from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Karooooo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Karooooo in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Karooooo in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Isaias Calisto sold 33,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.14, for a total value of $2,237,714.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 17,714,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,171,616,262.04. This represents a 0.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 277,617 shares of company stock worth $17,840,247 in the last three months. Insiders own 74.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Karooooo in the 2nd quarter valued at $54,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in Karooooo during the 2nd quarter worth $64,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Karooooo during the 1st quarter worth $296,000. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Karooooo by 83.5% during the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 6,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 3,168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Karooooo by 9.5% during 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.

About Karooooo

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.