Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) Stock

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) had its price target upped by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $40.00 to $45.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 2.32% from the company’s current price.

AAP has been the subject of a number of other reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Roth Capital raised Advance Auto Parts to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.73.

Advance Auto Parts Trading Down 3.6 %

NYSE AAP opened at $46.07 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $42.50 and its 200-day moving average is $47.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.11 and a beta of 1.16. Advance Auto Parts has a one year low of $35.59 and a one year high of $88.56.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.53). Advance Auto Parts had a return on equity of 1.82% and a net margin of 0.41%. The company had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.82) EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Advance Auto Parts will post -0.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Tammy M. Finley sold 1,276 shares of Advance Auto Parts stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.06, for a total transaction of $56,220.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,159.96. The trade was a 5.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advance Auto Parts

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAP. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the 3rd quarter valued at about $14,684,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 212.4% in the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 31,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,223,000 after buying an additional 21,320 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Advance Auto Parts during the third quarter valued at approximately $579,000. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the third quarter worth approximately $2,144,000. Finally, Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $9,046,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.75% of the company’s stock.

Advance Auto Parts Company Profile

Advance Auto Parts, Inc provides automotive replacement parts, accessories, batteries, and maintenance items for domestic and imported cars, vans, sport utility vehicles, and light and heavy duty trucks. The company offers battery accessories; belts and hoses; brakes and brake pads; chassis and climate control parts; clutches and drive shafts; engines and engine parts; exhaust systems and parts; hub assemblies; ignition components and wires; radiators and cooling parts; starters and alternators; and steering and alignment parts.