O'Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

O'Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

ORLY has been the topic of several other research reports. Wedbush lifted their target price on O'Reilly Automotive from $940.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Mizuho assumed coverage on O'Reilly Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $1,225.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on O'Reilly Automotive from $1,125.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on O'Reilly Automotive from $1,022.00 to $1,170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on O'Reilly Automotive from $1,200.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, O'Reilly Automotive presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,108.94.

O'Reilly Automotive Stock Performance

ORLY traded down $38.57 during trading on Thursday, reaching $1,054.13. The company had a trading volume of 917,935 shares, compared to its average volume of 373,213. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $1,097.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,014.34. The company has a market cap of $62.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.66, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.86. O'Reilly Automotive has a 12-month low of $860.10 and a 12-month high of $1,169.11.

O'Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The specialty retailer reported $9.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.18 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.99 billion. O'Reilly Automotive had a negative return on equity of 139.01% and a net margin of 14.84%. O'Reilly Automotive's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.28 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that O'Reilly Automotive will post 42.1 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other O'Reilly Automotive news, SVP Jeffrey Alan Lauro sold 431 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,038.63, for a total transaction of $447,649.53. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 963 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,000,200.69. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other O'Reilly Automotive news, SVP Jeffrey Alan Lauro sold 431 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,038.63, for a total transaction of $447,649.53. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 963 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,000,200.69. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman David E. Oreilly sold 6,444 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,062.60, for a total value of $6,847,394.40. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 205,095 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $217,933,947. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,968 shares of company stock valued at $27,269,333 over the last 90 days. 1.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On O'Reilly Automotive

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ORLY. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of O'Reilly Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $671,384,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of O'Reilly Automotive by 89,319.3% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 653,655 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $621,025,000 after acquiring an additional 652,924 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of O'Reilly Automotive by 656.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 457,625 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $434,780,000 after acquiring an additional 397,108 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of O'Reilly Automotive in the third quarter valued at approximately $198,365,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of O'Reilly Automotive by 15.0% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,406,513 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,587,784,000 after acquiring an additional 183,296 shares during the period. 85.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.