O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

ORLY has been the subject of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on O’Reilly Automotive from $1,400.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays increased their price target on O’Reilly Automotive from $1,110.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of O’Reilly Automotive from $1,315.00 to $1,325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on O’Reilly Automotive from $1,400.00 to $1,535.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on O’Reilly Automotive from $1,400.00 to $1,475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $1,390.81.

O’Reilly Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ORLY opened at $1,319.01 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $75.54 billion, a PE ratio of 32.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.91. O’Reilly Automotive has a 52-week low of $947.49 and a 52-week high of $1,389.05. The company has a fifty day moving average of $1,277.95 and a 200-day moving average of $1,217.40.

O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $9.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.73 by $0.23. O’Reilly Automotive had a negative return on equity of 166.88% and a net margin of 14.28%. On average, equities analysts forecast that O’Reilly Automotive will post 43.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at O’Reilly Automotive

In related news, EVP Jason Lee Tarrant sold 1,992 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,339.10, for a total transaction of $2,667,487.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,872,061.80. The trade was a 58.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark Joseph Merz sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,325.00, for a total transaction of $662,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 275 shares in the company, valued at $364,375. This trade represents a 64.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,894 shares of company stock worth $10,409,618. Corporate insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in O’Reilly Automotive during the fourth quarter valued at $867,190,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 73.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,725,316 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,986,874,000 after acquiring an additional 728,040 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 205,600.0% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 503,965 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $597,602,000 after acquiring an additional 503,720 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 10,626.8% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 487,212 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,393,000 after purchasing an additional 482,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of O’Reilly Automotive in the fourth quarter worth approximately $208,248,000. 85.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

O’Reilly Automotive Company Profile

O’Reilly Automotive, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a retailer and supplier of automotive aftermarket parts, tools, supplies, equipment, and accessories in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. The company provides new and remanufactured automotive hard parts and maintenance items, such as alternators, batteries, brake system components, belts, chassis parts, driveline parts, engine parts, fuel pumps, hoses, starters, temperature control, water pumps, antifreeze, appearance products, engine additives, filters, fluids, lighting products, and oil and wiper blades; and accessories, including floor mats, seat covers, and truck accessories.