Short Interest in O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORLY) Rises By 14.9%

O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORLY) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 974,100 shares, a growth of 14.9% from the January 15th total of 848,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 344,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Transactions at O’Reilly Automotive

In related news, Director Maria Sastre sold 248 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,316.17, for a total transaction of $326,410.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,278,001.07. This represents a 20.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jeffery Thomas Loafman sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,240.39, for a total value of $769,041.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,201.95. This trade represents a 99.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,968 shares of company stock valued at $2,492,394 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On O’Reilly Automotive

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,163,271 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,122,607,000 after purchasing an additional 17,325 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted 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 purchasing an additional 728,040 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,479,166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,700,513,000 after purchasing an additional 24,135 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,443,540 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,711,750,000 after purchasing an additional 11,039 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 99,957.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 854,487 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $984,027,000 after purchasing an additional 853,633 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded O’Reilly Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $1,150.00 to $1,450.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BNP Paribas upgraded O’Reilly Automotive to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on O’Reilly Automotive from $1,290.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on 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. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on O’Reilly Automotive from $1,200.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, O’Reilly Automotive currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $1,390.81.

O’Reilly Automotive Price Performance

O’Reilly Automotive stock traded down $16.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $1,318.80. 344,553 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 330,373. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,249.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,196.00. O’Reilly Automotive has a 12 month low of $947.49 and a 12 month high of $1,350.27. The firm has a market cap of $76.13 billion, a PE ratio of 32.43, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.94.

O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $9.96 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that O’Reilly Automotive will post 44.16 earnings per share for the current year.

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.