O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORLY) Short Interest Update

O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORLY) saw a large decline in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 850,600 shares, a decline of 12.7% from the January 31st total of 974,100 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 332,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days.

O’Reilly Automotive Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ ORLY traded down $14.83 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $1,324.84. 189,613 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 340,419. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,273.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,215.23. O’Reilly Automotive has a 1-year low of $947.49 and a 1-year high of $1,389.05. The firm has a market cap of $76.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Andrea Weiss sold 248 shares of O’Reilly Automotive stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,311.23, for a total value of $325,185.04. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 452 shares in the company, valued at approximately $592,675.96. The trade was a 35.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brad W. Beckham sold 833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,300.00, for a total value of $1,082,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $988,000. The trade was a 52.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,894 shares of company stock valued at $10,409,618. 1.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC lifted its stake in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 64 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 8 shares during the period. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 605 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $697,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 115 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in O’Reilly Automotive by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 1,863 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,145,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Finally, L.M. Kohn & Company raised its holdings in O’Reilly Automotive by 1.4% during the third quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 654 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $753,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on ORLY. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective 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. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of O’Reilly Automotive from $1,400.00 to $1,475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of O’Reilly Automotive from $1,400.00 to $1,535.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of O’Reilly Automotive from $1,200.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, O’Reilly Automotive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,390.81.

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.