O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORLY) Short Interest Down 12.7% in February

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised O’Reilly Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of O’Reilly Automotive from $1,110.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of O’Reilly Automotive from $1,400.00 to $1,535.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of O’Reilly Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $1,150.00 to $1,450.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. 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 research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, O’Reilly Automotive currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $1,390.81.

O’Reilly Automotive Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ORLY traded down $33.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $1,297.18. 104,286 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 340,850. The company has a market cap of $74.89 billion, a PE ratio of 31.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,275.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,216.03. O’Reilly Automotive has a 1 year low of $947.49 and a 1 year high of $1,389.05.

O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $9.96 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, research analysts expect that O’Reilly Automotive will post 43.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jason Lee Tarrant sold 1,992 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,872,061.80. This represents a 58.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Gregory L. Henslee sold 3,073 shares of O’Reilly Automotive stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,315.15, for a total transaction of $4,041,455.95. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 11,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,988,764.55. This trade represents a 21.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,894 shares of company stock worth $10,409,618 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORLY. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in O’Reilly Automotive by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 18,580 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $21,396,000 after buying an additional 3,193 shares during the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 34,027 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $40,349,000 after purchasing an additional 6,418 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 19,597 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $22,568,000 after buying an additional 882 shares in the last quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of O’Reilly Automotive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $365,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 824.6% in the fourth quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 3,606 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,276,000 after acquiring an additional 3,216 shares in the last quarter. 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.