Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) Price Target Raised to $48.00 at Morgan Stanley

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $45.00 to $48.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price target would suggest a potential upside of 1.87% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on AAP. Wells Fargo & Company set a $35.00 target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $44.71.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AAP traded down $2.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $47.12. The company had a trading volume of 1,308,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,403,768. Advance Auto Parts has a 12 month low of $28.89 and a 12 month high of $71.62. The stock has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.94, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.93. 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 firm's 50 day simple moving average is $34.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.30.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.81) by $0.59. The company had revenue of $2.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.51 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a return on equity of 1.82% and a net margin of 0.41%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Advance Auto Parts will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Advance Auto Parts

In related news, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. purchased 14,640 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $34.15 per share, with a total value of $499,956.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 34,070 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,163,490.50. This trade represents a 75.35% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Shane M. Okelly acquired 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $36.79 per share, with a total value of $55,185.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 183,121 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,737,021.59. This trade represents a 0.83% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AAP. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 58.7% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,689 shares of the company's stock worth $931,000 after buying an additional 7,285 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 57.2% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,603 shares of the company's stock worth $407,000 after acquiring an additional 3,130 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 75.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,119 shares of the company's stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 914 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 51.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,651 shares of the company's stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 902 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN purchased a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the fourth quarter worth about $312,000. 88.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Advance Auto Parts

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.

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