Karooooo (NASDAQ:KARO) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Karooooo (NASDAQ:KARO) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

KARO has been the topic of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Karooooo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Karooooo in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Karooooo from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Karooooo from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Karooooo from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Karooooo presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.50.

Karooooo Stock Performance

KARO opened at $63.65 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of 32.31 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $54.80 and a 200-day moving average of $50.62. Karooooo has a 52-week low of $41.25 and a 52-week high of $67.14.

Karooooo (NASDAQ:KARO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Karooooo had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 17.74%.The business had revenue of $96.26 million for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Karooooo will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Isaias Jose Calisto sold 33,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.14, for a total value of $2,237,714.62. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 17,714,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,171,616,262.04. This trade represents a 0.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 203,772 shares of company stock valued at $13,149,641 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 74.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Karooooo

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Karooooo by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd now owns 278,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,873,000 after purchasing an additional 40,268 shares during the period. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Karooooo by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 78,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,566,000 after buying an additional 14,600 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in shares of Karooooo by 115.4% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 74,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,234,000 after buying an additional 39,709 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Karooooo by 699.1% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 55,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,723,000 after buying an additional 48,644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Karooooo by 43.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 46,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,128,000 after buying an additional 14,078 shares in the last quarter.

Trending Headlines about Karooooo

Here are the key news stories impacting Karooooo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Karooooo’s latest quarterly results showed adjusted strength: EPS of $0.59 exceeded the $0.51 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $96.26 million. Analysts expect approximately $2.41 in full-year EPS, supporting the company’s premium valuation. Karooooo stock and earnings information
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its annual dividend to $1.50 from $1.25. Although the payout ratio is relatively high, the increase may reinforce investor confidence in Karooooo’s cash generation and shareholder returns.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains favorable. The consensus rating is “Buy,” with an average price target of $73.50, above recent trading levels. Roth Capital, Needham and UBS have maintained or issued buy ratings with targets ranging from $70 to $75.
• Neutral Sentiment: Three AAII articles compare Karooooo with Appian, Adeia and ACI Worldwide as potential investments. These are comparative screening pieces rather than company-specific developments, so they may have limited immediate impact on KARO. Appian versus Karooooo comparison Adeia versus Karooooo comparison ACI Worldwide versus Karooooo comparison
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Isaias Jose Calisto sold a combined 79,944 shares on August 4 and 5 for approximately $3.89 million, following additional sales on August 3 and in late July. The transactions reduced his ownership only marginally—less than 0.2% in each reported sale—but the repeated insider selling near the stock’s highs can raise concerns about valuation or near-term upside.

About Karooooo

Karooooo Ltd is a global provider of telematics software-as-a-service solutions for vehicle and fleet management. Through its flagship platform, the company delivers real-time GPS tracking, stolen vehicle recovery and driver behaviour analytics, enabling commercial fleets and automotive insurers to optimise operations, increase safety and reduce costs.

Karooooo’s SaaS platform integrates proprietary hardware devices with cloud-based analytics and mobile applications. Customers gain access to live vehicle location data, engine diagnostics, route planning tools and customizable reporting dashboards.