O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

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

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on ORLY. UBS Group increased 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. Morgan Stanley raised shares of O’Reilly Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $1,150.00 to $1,450.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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 report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of O’Reilly Automotive from $1,110.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price target on O’Reilly Automotive from $1,200.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities research 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

ORLY stock opened at $1,441.89 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $82.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $1,338.29 and its 200 day moving average is $1,248.96. O’Reilly Automotive has a 52 week low of $947.49 and a 52 week high of $1,458.37.

O’Reilly Automotive shares are set to split on the morning of Tuesday, June 10th. The 15-1 split was announced on Thursday, March 13th. The newly minted shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Monday, June 9th.

O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $9.96 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that O’Reilly Automotive will post 43.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Brad W. Beckham sold 833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,300.00, for a total value of $1,082,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 760 shares in the company, valued at $988,000. This represents a 52.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Maria Sastre sold 248 shares of O’Reilly Automotive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,316.17, for a total value of $326,410.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,278,001.07. The trade was a 20.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,894 shares of company stock worth $10,409,618 in the last three months. 1.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of O’Reilly Automotive

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC grew its position in O’Reilly Automotive by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 210 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 8 shares during the period. 111 Capital purchased a new stake in O’Reilly Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at $1,092,000. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ bought a new position in O’Reilly Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,993,000. Finally, Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of O’Reilly Automotive in the fourth quarter worth approximately $189,000. 85.00% of the stock is 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.