Softcat (LON:SCT) Trading 9.8% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Softcat plc (LON:SCT)’s share price traded up 9.8% on Friday . The company traded as high as GBX 1,621.61 and last traded at GBX 1,584. 13,754,611 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 419% from the average session volume of 2,650,307 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 1,442.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Softcat from GBX 1,500 to GBX 1,210 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Berenberg Bank reissued a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 1,900 price objective on shares of Softcat in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Shore Capital Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Softcat in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Softcat has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of GBX 1,908.89.

Softcat Trading Up 10.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of £3.13 billion, a PE ratio of 22.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is GBX 1,291.18 and its 200 day moving average price is GBX 1,336.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.07, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Softcat (LON:SCT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The company reported GBX 36.10 EPS for the quarter. Softcat had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 45.16%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Softcat plc will post 60.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Softcat

In related news, insider Kathryn Mecklenburgh bought 24,461 shares of Softcat stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 1,332 per share, with a total value of £325,820.52. Insiders have purchased 31,834 shares of company stock worth $42,647,394 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.89% of the company’s stock.

Softcat Company Profile

Softcat plc operates as a value-added IT reseller and IT infrastructure solutions provider in the United Kingdom. The company advices, procures, designs, implements, and manages technology, such as software licensing, workplace technology, networking, security, and cloud and datacenter for businesses and public sector organizations. It also offers public cloud, collaboration, connectivity, data centre and private cloud, devices, and financial solution services. In addition, the company provides IT asset management, lifecycle solutions, modern management, security, software licensing, supply chain operation, and virtual desktop and application.