AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Short Interest Up 14.5% in April

Key Points

• Short interest rose 14.5% in April to 343,407 shares (about 2.1% of shares), giving a short-interest ratio of 2.3 days based on average daily volume.
• Institutional ownership is very high at 92.74%, with Norges Bank establishing a new roughly $939.2 million stake and several major funds notably increasing their positions.
• Analysts are mostly bullish—MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a mean target of $4,312.13, and multiple firms have recently raised price targets into the $4,100–$4,800 range.

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 343,407 shares, an increase of 14.5% from the March 31st total of 300,033 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 146,795 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Currently, 2.1% of the company's shares are sold short.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, Director Earl G. Graves, Jr. sold 50 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,478.72, for a total transaction of $173,936.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,837 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,826,568.64. This trade represents a 1.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AutoZone

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $939,205,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in AutoZone by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 492,794 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,671,323,000 after acquiring an additional 74,555 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in AutoZone by 387.1% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 77,792 shares of the company's stock valued at $263,832,000 after acquiring an additional 61,821 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in AutoZone by 39.5% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 176,986 shares of the company's stock valued at $584,730,000 after acquiring an additional 50,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 80.8% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 101,185 shares of the company's stock valued at $432,059,000 after acquiring an additional 45,212 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,704.84 on Friday. AutoZone has a fifty-two week low of $3,210.72 and a fifty-two week high of $4,388.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.06 billion, a PE ratio of 25.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.41. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $3,544.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,633.86.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $27.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $27.59 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.31 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 72.31% and a net margin of 12.47%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $28.29 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that AutoZone will post 148.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AZO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Evercore lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. DA Davidson set a $4,300.00 price objective on AutoZone in a report on Thursday, March 5th. UBS Group set a $4,800.00 price objective on AutoZone in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $4,020.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $4,312.13.

About AutoZone

AutoZone, Inc NYSE: AZO is a retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company supplies a wide range of aftermarket components, maintenance items and accessories for passenger cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles. Its product assortment includes engine parts, electrical components, batteries, brakes, filters, fluids and interior and exterior accessories, supported by inventory management and logistics systems to serve retail customers and professional service providers.

AutoZone serves both do‑it‑yourself (DIY) consumers and commercial customers such as independent repair shops and service centers.

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