O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Thursday.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on ORLY. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of O’Reilly Automotive from $1,400.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of O’Reilly Automotive from $1,416.00 to $1,453.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays upped their target price on O’Reilly Automotive from $1,110.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on O’Reilly Automotive from $1,450.00 to $1,525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,475.00 price objective on shares of O’Reilly Automotive in a report on Monday, March 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, O’Reilly Automotive has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,390.81.

O’Reilly Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of ORLY opened at $1,389.87 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $1,341.01 and a 200-day moving average of $1,251.62. The company has a market cap of $79.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.91. O’Reilly Automotive has a 1 year low of $947.49 and a 1 year high of $1,458.37.

O’Reilly Automotive’s stock is going to split before the market opens on Tuesday, June 10th. The 15-1 split was announced on Thursday, March 13th. The newly minted shares will be distributed to shareholders after the closing bell on Monday, June 9th.

O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $9.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Analysts predict that O’Reilly Automotive will post 43.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Mark Joseph Merz sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,325.00, for a total value of $662,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 275 shares in the company, valued at $364,375. This represents a 64.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jason Lee Tarrant sold 1,992 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,339.10, for a total value of $2,667,487.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,872,061.80. This trade represents a 58.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,894 shares of company stock valued at $10,409,618. Company insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On O’Reilly Automotive

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ORLY. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in O’Reilly Automotive by 41.6% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 313 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 210 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 8 shares during the period. 111 Capital purchased a new position in shares of O’Reilly Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at $1,092,000. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new position in shares of O’Reilly Automotive in the fourth quarter worth $40,993,000. Finally, Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of O’Reilly Automotive in the fourth quarter worth $189,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.00% of the company’s stock.

About O’Reilly Automotive

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.