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

O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORLY) was the recipient of 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. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 344,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ORLY shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded O’Reilly Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $1,150.00 to $1,450.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of O’Reilly Automotive from $1,400.00 to $1,475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of O’Reilly Automotive from $1,400.00 to $1,535.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of O’Reilly Automotive from $1,305.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of O’Reilly Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $1,390.81.

Insider Activity at O’Reilly Automotive

In related news, Director Andrea Weiss sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,224.07, for a total value of $734,442.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $856,849. This represents a 46.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark Joseph Merz sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,325.00, for a total value of $662,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,968 shares of company stock worth $2,492,394. Company insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On O’Reilly Automotive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 5,128.8% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 115,034 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $136,407,000 after purchasing an additional 112,834 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in O’Reilly Automotive by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 436,391 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $517,473,000 after buying an additional 13,068 shares during the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new stake in O’Reilly Automotive in the fourth quarter worth $808,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in O’Reilly Automotive by 37.7% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 195,499 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $231,823,000 after buying an additional 53,547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 278.9% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 26,887 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,883,000 after acquiring an additional 19,790 shares during the period. 85.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

O’Reilly Automotive Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ ORLY opened at $1,318.80 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,249.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,196.49. O’Reilly Automotive has a twelve month low of $947.49 and a twelve month high of $1,350.27. The company has a market capitalization of $76.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict 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.