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

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

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of Karooooo from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Karooooo in a report on Friday, April 24th. 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 Karooooo from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Karooooo from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.50.

Karooooo Stock Down 3.4%

KARO opened at $63.65 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.31 and a beta of 0.85. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $54.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.62. Karooooo has a fifty-two week low of $41.25 and a fifty-two week high of $67.14.

Karooooo (NASDAQ:KARO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Karooooo will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Karooooo

In related news, CEO Isaias Jose Calisto sold 33,833 shares of Karooooo stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.14, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 0.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 203,772 shares of company stock worth $13,149,641. Company insiders own 74.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Karooooo

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KARO. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Karooooo by 56.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,464,000 after acquiring an additional 10,799 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Karooooo by 216.0% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 5,529 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in Karooooo during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,378,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Karooooo by 465.6% during the 2nd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 3,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,682 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Karooooo in the 2nd quarter valued at $156,000.

Key Karooooo News

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.